Care for Future Generations
From the very beginning, Behbud introduced the concept of home schools in communities where children were at risk of dangers such as abuse and exploitation.
Currently with eight home schools in rural and urban slums located in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Anjum Riyazul Haque, the Chairperson of the Education Committee at Behbud, explains that these schools were launched as a safe haven for unsupervised toddlers.
“Our home schools not only provide education to children, but also stand as a refuge for them to keep them off the streets and out of danger,” she says.
Currently with over 1,400 students enrolled in classes which begin from Pre-Nursery to Grade 5, these home schools serve as spaces that impart early education to a community’s children who don’t have the privilege of attending formal schooling.
Employing teachers from the same community, who receive continuous, in-service training, the home school model has proven to be a successful venture that not only further strengthens a family unit, but also protects its progress.
Apart from our home schools, we also runs two model schools known as the Behbud Model High School in Rawalpindi, and the Behbud Primary School at the Behbud Saidpur Village Complex. With a dynamic staff of teachers and dedicated administration bodies, both schools are at par with any private school in the country.
With free medical care, a safe space – led by women – to learn crafts and a school for their children, Behbud’s persevering efforts have created financially autonomous women who in turn raise an educated new generation.
Literacy for Liberation
For several years, Behbud has continued to offer adult literacy courses to its craftswomen to provide them with a basic education to encourage financial self-sufficiency. Infact, one such curriculum, ‘Jugnoo Sabaq,’ which taught writing, reading and basic mathematics in three months, was so successful that the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) awarded Behbud with the ‘Best Performance Award’ in 2003.
Our home schools not only provide education to children, but also stand as a refuge for them to keep them off the streets and out of danger.
Anjum Riyazul Haque,
Chairperson of the Education
