Helping Hands � From Scotland to Chitral

Solas Educational Trust provides funding for Booni school washrooms.

The Pamir Public School and College in Booni has been awarded a donation of �1000 for the construction of toilet/water facilities by the Solas Educational Trust. This comes soon after substantial donations to three Chitral schools � for classroom furniture, science laboratory equipment, and electrification of the school � were made.

Many people in the field of education will be familiar with the work this Glasgow-based charity has been doing in the District of Chitral.

Since 2001 Solas Educational Trust has provided �29,000 (over 3 million Rupees) to help community-oriented, non-profit schools in Chitral to overcome some of the obstacles in the way of their development. Early donations included �500 each to Pamir School Garamchashma and Pamir Public School Booni for computer equipment (this was at a time when these schools had no computers), �200 for a water supply to Shainigar Community School in Drosh. Already in 2007 Solas has provided support to Terich Mir Model School in Chitral City for much needed desks and benches, funds for the purchase of science equipment for the International School, Chuini, and funds for electrification of the Community School Dolomuch.

The Trust supports educational activity that encourages a spirit of inquiry and promotes a critical and humane outlook on life. Solas sees its main activity as the development of education through assisting schools to overcome hurdles in the way of their progress rather than through creating a dependence on outside funding.

Our latest contribution, towards the construction of washrooms at Pamir Public School, Booni, fits into the health education work that Solas is promoting. In the past water and toilet facilities have been provided in areas such as Drosh and Sorlaspur.

The schools that have received Solas assistance range from large higher secondary schools, including one exclusively girls school, to small village schools in remote areas. With many schools located in remote areas one of the great benefits that our activity has produced is the contact that is now being made between schools in different parts of the district.

The Solas Health and Education Committee, Chitral. (SHECC)

With funding assistance from the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland the Solas Health and Education Committee, Chitral (SHECC) was established in 2003, which now has a small office in Chitral town. A residential training seminar for teachers was held in Peshawar in 2004 facilitated by HEAL, an NGO from Lahore specialising in community and reproductive health. Basic materials and hygiene kits have been circulated to schools and the infrastructure has been established for the SHECC. The next stage of this activity (on which work is in progress) is to help introduce health and hygiene education directly into the day-to-day activities of the schools.

Solas Educational Trust, was established by professionals of Pakistani origin settled in the UK who wanted to promote education in Pakistan. Solas, which in the ancient Gaelic language means light or enlightenment, is a recognized Scottish charity and is hoping to build on the work it has done in Chitral over the past six years.

Solas hopes that over the coming years it will increasingly support those who are seeking to improve the education of the young in Chitral.

The Trust can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected] and at its website www.solastrust.org.uk
Trustees: Dr Eric Rahim (Convenor), Professor James Love, Mr Syed Barkat Alam, Dr. Syed Yousaf Ali, Mr Roy Grieve, Dr Mohammed Ghalib Khan.
Secretary: George Rawlinson

Solas Educational Trust. 18 Sackville Avenue, Glasgow, G13 1NG Scotland

 

Riaz Hussain

Chitral