The money we raise will be given to the All Pakistan Women's Association (APWA), to support two specific projects which we have identified. We are aiming to raise £15,000

All Pakistan Women's Association (APWA)

UK Registered  1136005

Established in 1949, this is the oldest and most respected women's social welfare organisation in Pakistan (www.apwapakistan.com). It is a voluntary, non-political organisation working for the social, cultural and economic empowerment of women and children. It has a nationwide network of schools, clinics, co-operatives and other projects. APWA has now expanded to support Pakistani women throughout the world, and has recently registered its UK Chapter (www.theukapwa.com)

PROJECTS:

1. Emergency Flood Relief

Many Pakistanis remain stranded far from home in refugee camps, months after the floods. £5000 of funds we raise will go to mergency relief projects run by APWA to provide food, water, medicine and shelter in the camps.

2. School

Our committee has visited two schools in Sindh province. The first, in Sanghar village, has fallen into disrepair and can no longer function. We need to raise £10 000 to get the school up and running. We visited a second school run by APWA in Hyderabad, which demonstrates that the charity is able to successfully maintain a school to high standard once the original investment is made.

Full case reports are included below.

Visits conducted on 29 & 30 November 2010

1.0          Introduction:

The All Pakistan Women’s Association owns and runs a large number of fee-paying schools both in Pakistan and in the province of Sindh.

This paper will present the case for a school in urgent need of funding, and also present an example of a successful school showing APWA’s track record of successful delivery of education in Pakistan.

Visits were conducted to 2 Apwa schools in Sindh in

-          Sanghar, a small village in a farming area, which is in urgent need of  refurbishment and is experiencing falling rolls due to health & safety concerns of parents; and

-          Hyderabad, a large city, which is well maintained and popular with local parents.

Both properties are well-sized, are well designed and fit for purpose, rooms are well proportioned and the schools are centrally located; APWA invested in the land [during the 50s – 70s].

The schools rely on fee income to pay teachers salaries and also to cover reactive maintenance costs. Generally there is no maintenance budget.

2.0   Sanghar Visit to Apwa Raana Middle School - 29 November 2010

The school is now down to 106 pupils on roll, from a peak of 300 pupils a few years ago.

Age range is 4-10 years. Co-educational. Most teachers are female, and under 25. About a third of teachers have BA degrees, the rest are educated to ‘Inter’ standard (an exam given at age 18).

Class size varies from 9 to 25 per class.

Construction started in 1968 and rooms have been added until as recently as the 1990s. Quality of construction is poor.

One estimate from a local contractor to repair and make good the most damaged areas puts the cost at c £7,000  - a second estimate is being sought.

Fees start at Rs 200 (£1.40) per month for the first year’s intake aged 4 and then increase about 10% per year after that.

One classroom roof collapsed and roof structures in other rooms chip and generally appear unstable, as a result local parents are not keen to send their children to this school.

The Head Teacher has been in post for nearly 20 years and shows commitment and tenacity. Staff morale is not high due to the fabric of the buildings.

Classrooms are arranged around a central courtyard and are are naturally ventilated. The quality of the furniture/equipment is mixed, with some recent donations from Engro, a local fertiliser company.  Fresh drinking water is obtained from a tube well.

There is a computer room and a small library stocked with books in English and Urdu and Sindhi.

The school premises also serve as a ladies community centre.

Photos from the school:

3.0          Hyderabad - Visit to the APWA School - 30 November 2010,

The school has approximately [300] pupils from nursery to age 16. Co-educational until Class 9 (age 14/15). Most teachers are female, and young. Class size is roughly 25 per year group.

The school was built in the mid 1970s and is of robust quality; it is maintained to an excellent standard; toilets are newly refurbished; furniture is of a very good standard; new IT equipment has been donated to the school. It is an excellent example of APWA’s successful track record in delivering a high standard of education to the young people of Pakistan.

The school is also the provincial HQ of APWA. The Head Teacher has developed revenue generation schemes for the school, eg: letting of a space for weddings.

Fees are Rs 250 (£1.80) per month; due to its popularity the pupil roll is high and it produces a small profit each month.

Photos from the school: