Ramshackle gypsy settlements are a common sight in nearly all cities of Pakistan. Outcast to the fringes of society, few of these children receive any formal education. Active Citizen Faisal decided to solve this problem by setting-up a make-shift school in the gypsy camp. Faisal works to facilitate their admission into regular schools and ensure them a better future.
Gypsy children are often seen begging for money or food at road sides, shops, and outside homes. They also often rummage through trash heaps to collect garbage for recycling. Money these children collect by begging contributes to their family's income. Parents with no fixed source of income can sometimes perceive education of their children as a threat to their family's well being.
Faisal and his friends decided to set up a make-shift school in the gypsy camp and started a door-to-door campaign to convince parents to let their children attend it. By the end of the first week they were teaching 22 gypsy children. By the end of the year the school had 138 students. So far 28 children have gone on to enroll in public school. In order to reach even more students the school needs an increasing amount of stationary, notebooks, pencils, pens and paper for the children
With more school supplies Faisal and his friends can reach at least an additional 150 children within a year and increase the gypsy community's literacy levels and academic abilities.
