Educate a girl and change the world
Much of the world's population espacially in poor countries, is made up of children and young people. To achieve a peacful world we must respect the right of education for all children, boys and girls.
More than 573 million women and girls worldwide are illiterate. In 2013 more than 63 million girls worldwide were not in school.
Education in Pakistan
Pakistan belongs to those countries, which have little hope in overcoming the conditions of underdevelopment. Missing education is the main problem that inhibits development.
Only 65% of the men and 40% of the women can read and write.
The quote lies dramatically lower in tribal areas. Not even 1% of the women are alphabetized.
During the 1990s and after the year 2000 the literacy rate made great progress. However, in the last years this progress has clearly slowed down. Currently 25% of ten year-olds are unable to read, write or count.
Pakistan invests 2% of the national budget in education.
The government of Pakistan invests in education, yet not enough!
The school system divides the nation in two. Families with money send their children to private schools, where lessons are in English and the diplomas are similar to western standards.
But no average Pakistani would ever be able to afford a private school.
Beside public schools, there are many madrassas for economically disadvantaged families. These are Islamic religious schools that offer free room and board as well as clothing. A third of the Pakistani children would have no chance to receive an education without the madrassas.
For villages in remote mountain valleys in complicated geographical surroundings, the chances of profiting from any of these school systems are very low.
For girls the opportunities are non-existent.
For women in the urban upper classes with a good international education and diplomas, Pakistan is a wonderful country. For them all opportunities are open, but for most women the door to progress remains closed due to the lack of education.
Sources: Amnesty International, Asian Development Bank, Wikipedia
A Girls' School for Diamiroi
The street up to Diamiroi is wild, steep and narrow! Crossing an oncoming car is always quite an adventure. It’s about one hour with a 4-wheel drive Jeep from Bounar Dass to Diamiroi. The maintenance of the street is labor intensive and rainfalls almost always cause great damages.
The Bounar valley is lonesome and desert-like. The lower part brings water via a canal from the Bounar River to a powerhouse near the village of Bounar Dass. This powerhouse provides electricity for the entire region.
The first village after Bounar Dass is Diamiroi, a tiny village at the entrance to the Diamir valley, an oasis in the desert, with apricot trees and cornfields. There are two possibilities to reach the village from the main road. Either you can drive to the bridge of Halale and then walk back by foot or you climb down to the river and cross it in a sort of manually operated «cable car», which is just a basket with room for three people to stand in it. Needless to say, this crossing is a thrilling experience!
Diamiroi is the starting point for expeditions to Nanga Parbat. From here a footpath leads to the villages in the upper Diamir valley.
There are about 60 families living in Diamiroi throughout the whole year, where as there are around seven thousand people living in the entire Bounar valley. The population is very young, 40% are under 15 years of age. The people are always very peaceful and friendly with great hospitality.
They are very self-sufficient by growing corn, wheat, beans and potatoes in fields as well as cultivating fruit trees, grapes and maintaining a vegetable garden in front of the house. Every household also has their own goats, cows, sheep and chickens.
Families live in simple stone houses with two to three rooms. Women cook three times a day at the fire, simple yet qualitatively healthy food.
Life is hard, only with the help of the whole family is it possible to manage the daily work.
The geographically challenging and wild surroundings make it impossible for children to go to school far away. Unfortunately there are not enough funds available for the people of Diamiroi to build their own schoolhouse and finance the teaching.
The government of Pakistan has been financing a school for boys in Diamiroi for some years.
The first and only Girls' school ever in both, the Bounar and Diamir valleys is located in the village of Jall and financed by the «Messner Mountain Foundation». At the moment 32 girls attend school. Thirty-two of a population of about seven thousand people live in both valleys.
Until today there is still no possibility for girls in Diamiroi to receive an education.
«Investing in girls brightens all our futures»
Carolyn Miles
We would like to build a school for girls in the village of Diamiroi because we believe that...
educating girls is the best investment against poverty.
through education, migration for economic reasons can be prevented.
girls and boys have the right to receive the same education.
girls of economically disadvantaged families also have a right to education.
peace can arise through education.
With your donation we can…
establish a secure place to learn.
enable a short and secure way to school.
build a one-story schoolhouse with three classrooms and a room with sanitary facilities.
provide basic furniture including a black board.
finance a wood-burning stove for winter.
hire qualified and inspiring teachers.
supply books and school materials for the first five years for all girls.
provide uniforms for the first five years for all girls.
we can convince the parents of the importance of their daughters' education.
It is our intention to pay regular visits to ensure the success of our endeavor.
We look forward to your support!