Pathan Khan, an illiterate father of seen children and resident of Budhani village, Jacobabad District, was clueless and apprehensive about the future of his children. Given the dilapidated infrastructure of public schools, lack of basic educational facilities, poor quality of education, and reluctance of parents to send their children to schools, Mr. Khan was worried about the future of the next generation, including his own children.
“I know how it feels to be uneducated, so I certainly do not want children of my village to remain illiterate like me,” he said.
When he learned that the Government Boys Primary School (GBPS) of his village had been included as one of the construction schools under the USAID-funded Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP), he saw a ray of hope for the children of his village. He engaged with the Sindh Community Mobilization Program (CMP) activities from the very beginning. When CMP shared the school construction plan and expressed the need for a piece of land for the school, Mr, Khan immediately donated his land worth Pak Rupees (PKR) 400,000 for the construction of the school. While donating his land during a community meeting, Mr. Khan became very emotional, unable to utter a word with eyes filled with tears of joy.
“Allah has provided me the opportunity to contribute my little share for the betterment of education in our village. I am now hopeful that our next generation will not suffer due to illiteracy,” was the only thing he was able to say.
Despite being a farmer and a milk seller with meager resources for his livelihood, Mr. Khan has set a wonderful example of generosity, selflessness and communal feeling. His continuous involvement in other CMP interventions, such as training, community meetings and enrollment drives, resulted in significant positive changes in the community.
“After having our school selected under SBEP, now our dream of an educated village is not far away,” one community member shared.
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CMP is a USAID-funded program that supports the Government of Sindh’s education reform and USAID’s Sindh Basic Education Program. CMP improves school resources and encourages community support for educational reform in Sindh province while identifying and addressing primary barriers to access, particularly for female students.
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