Girls top of class 2 years after Pakistan quake

Girls at one of 75 Plan-supported schools in the Siran Valley, Pakistan

5 October 2007: Girls in parts of Pakistan devastated by an earthquake 2 years ago have a better chance of school success than ever before thanks to Plan’s school improvement program.

Teenage girls in North-West Pakistan are attending Plan-backed community secondary schools in areas where they had no choice but to give up their education after primary school.

Plan has rebuilt schools for boys and girls, raised teaching quality and offered psychological support for children who were hurt or lost family members in the quake.

More than 73,000 people in Pakistan died in the 8 October 2005 earthquake which was one of the most deadly of modern times. Another 3,000,000 were left homeless.

New opportunities

Sadia reading out loud to classmates at her community-managed school

Sadia, aged 17, from Siran Valley, is a shy and reticent young girl, her village was one of many destroyed in the 2005 earthquake.

She said: “I went to this primary school quite far away and as I was young my father did not have a problem sending me there. But after primary school, my family thought it was improper for me to travel so far. I wanted to study but had no option but to sit at home, as there was no school for me nearby.”

When the Plan community managed girls’ school opened in her village, Sadia was one of the first students to gain admission.

When asked why she had come back to school, she replied: “I love coming to school. I want to be a doctor and help people.

“Now my parents are both very happy, as I am learning new things every day. I think education for girls is very important, my mother was never educated and she thinks it is very important that I should be.”

Power of education

Tom Miller, Plan chief executive, said: “Improving education for girls and boys is a key part of rebuilding lives shattered by the terrible events of 2 years ago. These programs show the true power of education in disaster recovery and the true resilience of children.”

Please support Plan’s long-term work: sponsor a child