Pakistan
In the village of Roushan, as the grain in the nearby fields started to grow, 25 women gathered to enroll in a Shining Light Adult Literacy Center. They started to meet each afternoon to learn to read and write. Their daughters attend school – the first generation of girls in this community to be encouraged to do so. Now, these women are students too, and they are eager to make up for lost time. Through regular village visits, strong bonds were quickly built between our field staff, community leaders and this group of determined women.
Through the summer, extreme rainfall resulted in flash floods throughout the region. Half of the village of Roushan was destroyed one night by a landslide. The home where the women gathered to study the Urdu alphabet was flooded and their books and teaching supplies were lost. The Adult Literacy Center was put on hold as the community took stock of what was left and made plans to rebuild.
Our field team worked with community leaders to help assess needs and in December, delivered housewarming kits to the 25 women from the class and their families that included warm bedding, mattresses and a heating stove. Literacy is often bigger than just learning to read and write. In Roushan, it’s led to deep connections and trust, and opportunities for restored community and hope.
I am already making a difference in my community
Now I am trained enough to do different types of stitching and I have already started earning.
There Is Hope!
On registration day, over 80 women filled the small yard around the building where training would happen!
Mobile Tent Schools
In remote, seminomadic communities in Pakistan, the school year used to come to a halt during the seasonal migrations. Children missed out on up to seven months of education,
Helping Me Accomplish My Dreams
“Recently I completed my master’s degree in mathematics. I give all the credit to the Scholarship Program that has always stood behind me from kindergarten to university education.
Partnerships Transform Families
Sharif* grew up in a very conservative village. He was bullied at school by students and teachers. His family had heard of our partner’s Scholarship Program and their partnership with the local center to provide housing and support for students just like him.
Opportunities For Women
“I never have missed a single day and I have my best time here in this center.”
A Teacher’s Heart
The goal of the education project, run by our partner organisation, is to work with remote communities to improve access to education through adult literacy classes and operational support for five remote village schools.
A Tent School That Travels with the Shephard People
Over the past three years, through our Monitoring and Evaluation Program, our team has noticed that while enrollment in school is high in the five mountain villages that we work with,
Everyone Deserves Access to Education
Nahida likes to study but she never had a chance to go to a school because her parents always moved from one place to another. “I always had a desire to go to a school but I come from a shepherd family and in the summer we move up to high pastures with our livestock and we are not allowed to live in the village,” explains Nahida.
How Flood Relief Paved the Way for Education
In the fall of 2022, catastrophic flooding swept across Pakistan. In the chaos, a landslide tore through the remote mountain village of Kunis taking homes and cropland with it.
Professional Excellence
Operation Mercy’s partner organisation has worked to develop a monitoring and evaluation program to ensure its programmes are pursuing professional excellence
Building Bridges through Education
Sher Azam is a community leader who supports public projects among the shepherd people in remote villages in northern Pakistan, including making improvements to education in village schools.
Building Relationships Through Literacy
In the village of Roushan, as the grain in the nearby fields started to grow, 25 women gathered to enroll in a Shining Light Adult Literacy Center.
Everyone Deserves Access to Education
We are seeing a breakthrough in understanding that all deserve to have an opportunity to access education.