Transform Pakistan's under-resourced Girls Schools

Springtime has come with new energy and vigour for our schools. Taking advantage of Karachi’s spring breeze and blooming flowers the students engaged in various informative sessions and sports competitions while preparing for their end-of-term exams. The overarching themes of activities have included Safety programs, Sports competitions, Educational trips and Book fairs.

These information sessions helped engage students and amplified their interest in these disciplines. The educational trips undertaken by students allowed them to gain real-world experience and strengthen their knowledge beyond the classroom.

This quarter Zindagi Trust focused on safety training, equipping children to take on the world outside the confines of school. Agha Khan University held interactive and engaging sessions on road safety and Fire Safety. There was also extensive First Aid training for students of the Upper Secondary Section. These practical trainings helped students to acquire real-world knowledge and apply it in their lives. Keeping up with the spirit of safety, in collaboration with K-Electric, reading circles and art activities have been conducted with students of different age groups using the K-electric safety toolkit. Students thoroughly enjoyed the story and the colourful illustrations. The Snakes and Ladder game was a special favourite for children to play once the sessions were finished.

In the early childhood section, Colgate conducted captivating fun Oral Hygiene sessions for grades 1&2. These sessions taught students the importance of oral hygiene via age-appropriate activities creating happier smiles. The start of May also brought a beautiful tribute to mothers on the account of Mother's Day celebrations at both our schools.

At Zindagi Trust, we believe student interests and engagement hold great value. To ensure students get a breath of fresh air among impending exam stress an orientation session was held for the Games Design Workshop by STEAM Pakistan at Khatoon-e-Pakistan Girls Government School, Karachi for students of classes 6-8. Students have excitedly signed up for the workshop and are eager to attend the full-fledged workshops post examinations. Similarly, a book fair for secondary classes was held by National Book Foundation (NBF). Students were given 50% on all general books printed by NBF to encourage young readers and thinkers of tomorrow. An educational trip to PAF Museum was also arranged to provide students with a respite from their hectic routines and engage with education in a practical, engaging way.

Zindagi Trust also recognizes the importance of keeping teachers healthy and happy for the best experience and learning of students. In collaboration with Dhanak, a Yoga Session was held for teachers at SMB Fatima Jinnah Government Girls School. While 2 trainers of the Pakistan Life Saver Program, from the Center of Excellence for Trauma and Emergencies at AKU, conducted training for 40 teachers at SMB Fatima Jinnah Girls Government School. This equipped them with how to deal with emergency situations, first aid and CPR. The teachers found this interactive session extremely useful.

With academic finals just around the corner, students have ensured that they prove themselves in the field of sports as well. Students have shown impeccable skills during this period. Using their training acquired throughout the year the students have participated in various sports competitions and have excelled at them.

Our adopted Schools have been ruling the Chess territory at interschool competitions held in Karachi. Both of our schools participated in the Open Rapid Chess Championship 2023 organized by the Mind Sports Association. Different schools from all over Karachi were competing in the contest. SMB Fatima Jinnah’s student from grade 10th secured 1st position. While other students secured 2^nd, 4^th and 5^th positions respectively. Two chess teams from SMB Fatima Jinnah Girls Government School also secured First & Second positions in Mai Karachi Chess Championship in March. This has been the first of many chess achievements for KPS in external chess competitions. Other board game competitions such as Carom have also seen SMB Fatima Jinnah secure the 1st and 2nd positions in Karachi Games 2023.

However, our sports achievements are not limited to board games. The football team from our school won the Under 14 and Under 11 inter-school tournaments held this year. 7 students of SMB also played on behalf of Diya Club in the 1st Diya Under-18 Inter-district Futsal Tournament 2023. 3 of these students have won the awards of Best Goal Keeper, Best Defender and Best Striker.

The year has taken an eventful, cheery and athletic start. Zindagi Trust has balanced out the end-of-year stress and has made pertinent safety session training interesting for students and teachers alike. The importance of education beyond the classroom cannot be undermined as it helps. We await the exam result of our students with bated breath and look forward to a summer filled with fun learning