Pakistan’s First Solar Night School Educates Underprivileged Kids
I didn’t want lack of electricity to stop students from going to school.
Video Editor: Rahul Sanpui
It's been around two years since I took a break from studies and from my business. I wanted to do something different, something that I would be proud of and through which I could contribute to the well-being of society.
Do you know nearly 23 million children are out of school in Pakistan?
This striking fact made me come up with the idea of establishing Pakistan’s first solar night school in Faisalabad. ‘Slum’ school as it’s popularly called stands for Students Learning Under Moon
Why a solar night school, you may ask. Well, because I didn’t want lack of electricity to stop students from going to school.
I realised a lot of underprivileged children are unable to go to school during the day. It’s in the night when they are free and can attend school. So I teach them outdoor, using solar lights and solar fans. I teach subjects like Mathematics, English, Urdu Science and Taekwondo.
I have around 100 children who come to study from 7pm to 9pm. I try to teach them the basic subjects so that they can have a better future.
At the beginning, for more than a year, I bore all the expenses but now we have sponsors. We have StationeryX.pk who donated stationary and recently, solar equipment was donated by Rural Energy Solutions (PVT) Ltd. But as a rule we don’t accept donations in cash. Volunteers are welcome to donate in kind – food, clothes and laptops etc.
Looking at the overwhelming response that I received, I now plan to open solar night schools in other cities of Pakistan. I believe all children should be given equal opportunities when it comes to education; that’s when Pakistan will truly grow!
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