early 23 million children are out of school in Pakistan. 23-year old social activist and educationist, Rohayl Varind set up two branches of Slum School in Faisalabad, around 323 KM south of capital Islamabad, offering night classes to children who don’t have the opportunity for the education because of poverty.
The school does not accept cash donations. Instead, it seeks food, stationary, and laptops. One other intresting thing is on Varind’s donations list, interestingly, is solar power-related equipment. Since its inception, the school has relied on solar energy to power its lights, fans, and IT equipment.
“Where my Slum School is located, there is no electricity so I considered solar energy the best alternative,” Varind said. “It’s free and easy to install and use.”
A typical school evening runs from 7pm to 9pm, with Varind teaching the kids English, Urdu, math, and science. Each week, he splits his time equally between the two branches of the school, which have a total of over 100 students.
Sometimes, volunteers—his friends and other activists in Pakistan—come in to teach computers, Taekwondo, graphic design, and other subjects.
