Group from Palosai, Peshawar
After Group Four, the extension of network continued and we made more progress. We went to a nearby village to Peshawar, named as Palosai, which happens to have only one female school. The condition of that school was miserable. The teachers would beat the students as a punishment which, slowly and gradually, took all the interest of the student's to study and make good use of their lives. They wanted a good environment, which could make their dreams possible. Not only that, but a creation of strong base was required on which they can build. Open Doors Literacy Project took a plunge and provided the quality environment and education to the following students.
STUDENTS:
1. Aqsa
2. Ghazala
3. Saba
4. Sana
5. Shabeena
ABOUT THE STUDENTS:
Luckily, this group also ended up as all girls. We talked to the parents of these girls and decided to provide them with education. Shabeena, 19 year old, and Ghazala, 13 year old, are sisters. Both got dropped out of school at early age due to the strict behaviour of their teachers. Therefore, they remained illiterate. In addition, Aqsa is 12 while Sana and Saba are both 13 year old.
BEFORE THE CLASSES:
I have been in constant interaction with them and this group is the most ambitious group amongst the all. They have a keen desire to learn and have the capacity to come become something. I'll share a personal example. Shabeena asked me about how comb gets induced with the positive charge after combing the hair and it attracts the negative charged pieces of paper. Ghazala asked about how to save environment from pollution. So their dreams are clear. Their ambitions are good and they have the desire to learn. In their free time, they look at the pictures in the newspaper to learn something from them. They are hopeful that the base provided by Open Doors Literacy Project will go further long in the completion of their dreams.
GAYLE'S SKYPE SESSION WITH HASSAN AND STUDENTS:
I Skyped with Hassan and Group 5 (6-11), with 7 girls, ranging from ages 10 to 22. Like the other groups their parents are excited about literacy, although their mothers are illiterate. They view the skills as foundational to serving their village and country, doing good deeds. Working in the health field is again the most popular goal, but one girl would like to be a teacher and another would like to work with an NGO like the United Nations. There is a government school for girls in their village but they don’t attend because the teachers either don’t come or beat them for small mistakes, being tardy, etc. Only one girl had attended, Saba (age 12) but dropped out because of the beating. They think girls work harder than boys and I mentioned there are more girls than boys in universities in many countries now. They really appreciate teacher Hassan for being positive and helpful. For fun they visit relatives, do housework, play cricket and soccer. I asked if they had any choice in a future husband. They said no, their’ parents have their best interests in heart. It would be of no use to express a preference. I asked if they wanted to know about fertility so babies can be planned, but they said they were too young. When I asked them if they had questions for me they asked about my family and why I was involved in ODLP.
PICTURES FROM THE CLASSES:
STUDENTS:
1. Aqsa
2. Ghazala
3. Saba
4. Sana
5. Shabeena
ABOUT THE STUDENTS:
Luckily, this group also ended up as all girls. We talked to the parents of these girls and decided to provide them with education. Shabeena, 19 year old, and Ghazala, 13 year old, are sisters. Both got dropped out of school at early age due to the strict behaviour of their teachers. Therefore, they remained illiterate. In addition, Aqsa is 12 while Sana and Saba are both 13 year old.
BEFORE THE CLASSES:
I have been in constant interaction with them and this group is the most ambitious group amongst the all. They have a keen desire to learn and have the capacity to come become something. I'll share a personal example. Shabeena asked me about how comb gets induced with the positive charge after combing the hair and it attracts the negative charged pieces of paper. Ghazala asked about how to save environment from pollution. So their dreams are clear. Their ambitions are good and they have the desire to learn. In their free time, they look at the pictures in the newspaper to learn something from them. They are hopeful that the base provided by Open Doors Literacy Project will go further long in the completion of their dreams.
GAYLE'S SKYPE SESSION WITH HASSAN AND STUDENTS:
I Skyped with Hassan and Group 5 (6-11), with 7 girls, ranging from ages 10 to 22. Like the other groups their parents are excited about literacy, although their mothers are illiterate. They view the skills as foundational to serving their village and country, doing good deeds. Working in the health field is again the most popular goal, but one girl would like to be a teacher and another would like to work with an NGO like the United Nations. There is a government school for girls in their village but they don’t attend because the teachers either don’t come or beat them for small mistakes, being tardy, etc. Only one girl had attended, Saba (age 12) but dropped out because of the beating. They think girls work harder than boys and I mentioned there are more girls than boys in universities in many countries now. They really appreciate teacher Hassan for being positive and helpful. For fun they visit relatives, do housework, play cricket and soccer. I asked if they had any choice in a future husband. They said no, their’ parents have their best interests in heart. It would be of no use to express a preference. I asked if they wanted to know about fertility so babies can be planned, but they said they were too young. When I asked them if they had questions for me they asked about my family and why I was involved in ODLP.
PICTURES FROM THE CLASSES: