Elementary School Quality Improvement Project
Last winter, Captain Riaz from SRS came to visit our clinic. I took him to an under construction masjid in my town, which happens to be across from an elementary school. Captain Riaz noticed small children bending to drink water from an uncomfortably low faucet. The scene inspired us to seek a meeting with the school principal. After all, it’s the only school in the village. We soon learned that there were 6 total classes of students, but only 2 government teachers, who work alongside 3 temporary teachers. Teachers’ personal belongings and some basic classroom appliances were stored away along with students’ books and supplies.
The building itself also had many issues: The boys washroom was near collapsing due to a leaky overhead water tank, and there was no concrete walkway for children to access classrooms. This meant that, in the rain, children were forced to trudge through mud.
Following our discussion, Captain Riaz and I decided to try to provide some aid and support to the school.
Captain Riaz’s SRS and the Gujrat Welfare Society (GWS) partnered on some immediate actions. Four new, highly qualified teachers were hired. The washroom was renovated and bricks were laid to make a walkway. GWS built a fully furnished teacher’s facility, with a staff kitchen and washroom. And each child was given their own water bottle to use with the new water cooler Captain Riaz had installed.
Unfortunately, the school experienced a setback due to the heavy rainfall, which caused significant structural damage to the outer walls. We collaborated with the Shergarh Village Welfare Society to help raise money for repairing the walls and creating a permanent drainage solution to avoid a repeated disaster. We have pledged to match 100% of the donations they collect for the school—in fact, reconstruction work has already begun on the fallen walls.
Ultimately, our goal is to change the culture of teaching and learning, both by getting parents involved and by reaching out to the village youth, some of whom even live abroad. We hope to noticeably improve the school standard within a year, and this cannot be achieved without a full community effort.
The government elementary school receiving improvements
New drinking water fountain
Old, less comfortable drinking water fountain