Education: Our Salvation

Pakistani educational facilities in rural and remote areas lack adequate facilities. I observed this for myself in the year 2020 when I visited Pakistan and took a road trip through Punjab, the largest and most populated province of the country, and KPK. Wanting to help, I approached the non-profit organization Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) and discussed possibilities of how I could assist students in rural areas of Pakistan.

HHRD allowed me to initiate a project in March 2022 geared toward providing educational opportunities to underprivileged students all over the country. Many students I taught were orphans, while a few of them attended rural schools. The essential goal was to instruct students in grades eight to ten in the subjects of Mathematics (Algebra/Geometry) and English (Grammar/Literature).

The planning and successful execution of this project took a little over a year. This was due to the basic logistics and on-ground movement of material to provide for the students. Initially, I spent a good six weeks at the starting phase of the project. It continued for more time than originally planned to cater to the needs of the students in different units and subjects. Since many of the students speak only in Urdu, my instruction and interactions with them are also in their native tongue. For curriculum, I use textbooks they may have as well as material from Khan Academy. For each of the fifteen students I tutor, I have created Khan Academy accounts in their names so they can have access to extra material. In order to teach, I utilized Micro, the whiteboard, and Zoom’s screen share function. Additionally, HHRD purchased tablets and Wi-Fi devices for all students so they can access the Internet.

Even more beneficial is that having garnered experience from this initial project, I have ventured into creating and offering an educational program for many young Afghani refugees who have fled to the safety of the US. In this program, targeted to students in grades nine through eleven, I have been imparting complex biological concepts, engaging with them on a personal level, and helping them improve their English. Biology lessons consist of hands-on-lab experiments conducted by the students and post-lab analysis detailing what they observed and how it relates to what they have learned.

It is a well-known fact that gaining a foothold toward success in life is through education. Unfortunately, all over the world, children are not granted this gift because of poverty. In many cases, young children need to work to support their families. I am glad that I, and many other organizations, are helping these children gain education.