Voice Of Children

ISLAMABAD – A delegation led by Dr Rinchen, Director General South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children (SAIEVAC), called on Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, and Pakistan’s goodwill Ambassador for the Orphan Children, Jahan Ara Wattoo, here on Thursday. According to a press release, Dr Rinchen briefed the participants on the initiatives taken by the SAIEVAC to end the violence against the children in the region. He said it is international obligation under the UN that “we should eliminate discrimination and violence against the children in the South Asian region.” Wattoo informed Rinchen that free quality education, boarding and lodging facilities are provided to the children in these schools and home like environment is provided to them. He also told the DG SAIEVAC about Aamir Begum Welfare Trust and schools run under the trust. Dr Rinchen appreciated the services of Jahan Ara Wattoo in the social sector and said that the SAIEVAC had appointed her the first Regional Advisor of SAARC to the SAIEVAC. He hoped that Jahan Ara play her role to protect the children against violence that would also motivate and sensitise other people to come forward for this noble cause. “ The future of the South Asian Region depends upon the quality of life opportunities we provide to our children.” he stressed.

LAHORE: “India and Pakistan face the same education problems,” said Dr Rukmini Banerji speaking on the first day of a regional seminar organised by the South Asian Forum for Education Development (SAFED) and Idarae Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) in collaboration with the Education Testing Service (ETS) at a local hotel in the city. Presenting her paper, Every Child in School and Learning Well, Dr Banerji who is the Director of Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Centre, India, quoted examples from her study in India and said despite schools having an enrollment rate as high as 96 per cent, attendance mostly ranged between 60 to 90 percent. She said, “Even if a child is enrolled, it does not mean they are being educated if they are absent from school.” Dr Banerji said her study had revealed that children were actually entering school much earlier than the ‘mandatory age,’ which she said was six years. She advocated that education standards be set keeping needs of a specific system in mind. She said questions were being raised as to how annual academic progress in children’s learning could be ensured. “Children are being forced to carry a burden of expectations which perhaps they are not capable of meeting.” Dr Banerji recommended that children be grouped based on their learning level instead of ‘school grades.’ ITA Programme Director Baela Raza Jamil said, “Once the right to education is enshrined in the Constitution, laws monitoring its execution need to be developed and reviewed periodically.” She added that the seminar was a regional continuation of the Salzburg Global Seminar which was held in December last year to ‘close mobility gaps in education worldwide’. Jamil said dialogue between regions could help resolve issues pertinent to the education of children. ETS Senior Vice President Dr Michael Nettles said the organisation was working in the US to ‘close education gaps’ in the system. Speaking via video conference, Dr Nettles said it was essential for regions to indulge in a dialogue to resolve educational problems. Claiming that one-third of Punjab’s budget was spent on education, Planning and Development Secretary Tahir Ali said much of that money was spent on teachers’ salaries. Ali said provision of ‘education for all’ and ensuring equity in education were key challenges to work towards. MNA Bushra Gohar said political influences needed to be removed from the education system as this had hindered the process of teaching and learning. “Our education system is teaching hatred,” said Gohar while demanding that there be greater transparency and accountability regarding the budget spent on education. “If we continue to be a ‘security state,’ we will fail to prioritise our children.” Beaconhouse National University School of Education Dean Dr Tariq Rahman recommended that the mother language education (MLE) structure be included in the system. He said a study had revealed that a child grasps concepts better when tutored in his mother tongue. In his paper, Language Policy, Weakening of Languages and MLE in Pakistan, Dr Rahman said English and Urdu were being ‘favoured’ by the state and this had translated into linguistic elitism. Dr Rahman identified more than 50 minor languages and 6 major languages in the country and said a child established a strong sense of identity when taught in his mother tongue. Dr Rahman said an ‘across the board’ policy of incorporating an MLE structure into the educational system was the only way to remove the stigma associated with the use of indigenous languages. Sindh Education Foundation Director Aziz Kabani faced criticism from the audience for his take on ‘test scores’ being used to gauge learning. Kabani said education had become a commodity. “Education has become quantifiable and market trends dictate how a child must be prepared for it.” Kabani said the state needed to decide whether it wanted to pursue a ‘child-friendly’ or ‘test score’ pedagogy. Ravish Amjad asked whether an increased private sector role would help bridge the quality-inequality gap. Amjad, a research and policy analyst at ASER, said the 2011 ASER report had indicated that learning outcomes were better in private than in government schools, adding that it was a ‘relative performance’ report. She suggested greater attention towards the quality of teacher, curricula development and missing facilities in schools. IG Research and Evaluation Director Dr Gordon MacLeod in his paper, Teacher Education Models That Work, said ‘teacher quality’ was a fashionable trend. He said there was a lack of formal information to understand the issues related to teacher education in Pakistan. The Citizen’s Foundation Academics and Training senior manager Rahila Fatima said they encouraged teachers in ‘self reflection’ practices and teachers were recruited from the same area as the school. St Joseph’s College for Women, Karachi, Principal Bernadette Dean said they prepared students to take up informed and participatory roles in moving towards creating a ‘just’ society (citizen education). She requested the government to raise the status of citizen education which she said was currently at the bottom of the ‘subject hierarchy’. The seminar will continue on Thursday. Dr AH Nayyar, Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy and Zubeida Mustafa are scheduled to speak. Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2012.

Islamabad—Fifty-five new schools constructed by UNICEF in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with funding from Australia and the Netherlands were inaugurated on Wednesday. Australian High Commissioner Timothy George, the Charg‚ d’Affaires of the Embassy of Kingdom of the Netherlands Sander Janssen and the UNICEF Representative in Pakistan Dan Rohrmann inaugurated the schools at a ceremony held in Gari Habibullah Government Primary School in earthquake-affected area. “Education is an investment in the future of individuals, communities, and the nation”, said Australian High Commissioner Timothy George. “Australia is proud to be supporting UNICEF’s work, in partnership with the Pakistan Government, to reconstruct 149 schools for providing thousands of children a safe space to continue - or in some cases commence - their education”. Speaking on the occasion, the Dutch Charg‚ d’Affaires Sander Janssen said, “In any society, children are the future. These new schools in the earthquake-affected regions are an asset and we believe that quality education for children is necessary for the good future of Pakistan.” He stated, “it is now up to the Provincial Government to make sure that these new schools are properly maintained and that they continue providing quality education”. UNICEF has constructed seismic resistant state-of-the-art schools in Mansehra district as part of the Pakistan Earthquake Education Program for children affected by the tragedy in 2005. With the 55 new schools, 206 of the planned 219 schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have now been completed and handed over to the provincial education department. The remaining schools are at differing stages of construction and will be completed by the end of June 2012. “Education is not only the basic right of every child but also a necessity for national development,” said UNICEF Pakistan Representative Dan Rohrmann. “Creating opportunities for children in the wake of the 2005 earthquake is a mission UNICEF embarked upon soon after the tragedy.” He said, with the invaluable support of the Australian Agency for International Development and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with ERRA, PERRA, KP Education Department and a host of other partners, we have managed to support the `build back better’ initiative of the government. “These new schools provide equitable access to education and combined with the child-friendly schools and learning environments, children will be exposed to a more interactive and empowering learning environment,” Rohrmann added. With the added elements of health and hygiene; clean drinking water and improved sanitation, he said, the parents, teachers and community members have a unique opportunity to ensure that every child of school-going age is enrolled and does not drop out. To date, the Netherlands Government has provided US$32 million and the Australian Agency for International Development AU$19 million to UNICEF for the Pakistan Earthquake Education Program. The newly inaugurated 55 schools in Mansehra district were built at a cost of Rs 394 million (US$4.7 million). Nearly 5,755 children are currently enrolled in these schools. UNICEF has trained hundreds of teachers in pedagogy, teaching methodology and psycho-social support for the new schools. The opening of the new schools coincides with a UNICEF campaign recently launched across the country with the aim to enroll every child of school-going age at school and to encourage those already enrolled to stay in school. —APP

Mansehra—Nazriya Pakistan Council (Trust) Islamabad opened its new chapter in Mansehra on Monday to rally the people around a noble cause for fortifying the foundation of Pakistan. The Hazara division was always rich in spirit of patriotism and love for Islam and this new chapter which was close to their hearts was welcomed by the intellectuals, educationists, scholars, professionals and other people from different segments of society in the area. Zahid Malik, Chairman Nazriya Pakistan Council and Editor-in-Chief, Pakistan Observer while addressing the ceremony held in a Mansehra Public School and College expressed his faith that the youth of Pakistan are bestowed with unparalleled qualities of head and heart. No doubt Pakistan is passing through its difficult period but the resilience of the nation will take it forward soon as Pakistan has blessing of Almighty Allah. The NPC is a non-political body with an aim to serve the people and the country irrespective of political affiliations, colour, creed or caste. The purpose of opening chapters is to rally the like-minded people for the noblest cause. Focus is on young generation as the youths are future builders of Pakistan. They should be armed with ideology of Pakistan. On NPC’s initiative, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has approved to hold 5-minute morning assembly in all educational institutions on Quaid-i-Azam, Allama Iqbal and Islam. Books are also being published to highlight messages of such towering personalities. Umer Gul Swati, Principal of Mansehra Public School and College was appointed convener of Mansehra Chapter by the Chairman NPC Zahid Malik. In his remarks he said Ideology of Pakistan can not be ignored at any stage especially when some unscrupulous elements are trying to create divisions and conflicts in the nation. It is this Nazriya which can defeat all negative forces in the country. He said the new NPC chapter will promote cause of Pakistan in this part of the country. Shah Jahan Khan Swati, President of Mansehra District Bar said Hazara has very important role in creation of Pakistan as people of this area during referendum in the then NWFP overwhelmingly voted in support of Pakistan. He said there is a need to work in rural areas and among women in spreading message of Pakistan. Kanwar Dilshad, Executive Secretary of NPC said Nazriya Pakistan is actually continuation of concepts already floated by Muslim leaders of South Asia. Lord Minto accepted demand of Muslims of India in 1911 for separate electorate. He said NPC has initiated several projects for promotion of Nazriya Pakistan. Dr. Ayub Sabir, an expert on Iqbaliat said Iqbal presented concept of Pakistan in his Allahabad Khutba which formed a base for new state of Muslims in India. Allama Iqbal through his poetry and essays awakened Muslims. A large number of students, lawyers, intellectuals and scholars of Mansehra attended the ceremony. Later in the afternoon, a seminar was held on Nazriya Pakistan at Modernage Public School and College in Abbottabad where thought- provoking speeches were delivered to highlight the very concept of Pakistan. Zahid Malik said in his speech that he always foresaw a multi-dimensional bright future of Pakistan and that was primarily because of the unmatched God given talent of youngsters of Pakistan. Two- nation theory took its hold when the last Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) left Makkah for Madina. Then a journey was set off from “Sabz Gunband to Sabz Parcham”. It is also a fact during his stay in UK, Quaid-i-Azam was given a special message by the last Prophet to go to India and serve the Muslims. Pakistan is an extension of holy city of Madina, he said. Besides publishing books, the NPC is trying to rallying leaders of public opinion in this mission. Message is being spread in a simple way. More chapters will be opened in other cities. He appealed to the wealthy persons and business houses to sponsor a poor child either in a Tat school or a foreign standard school till the student does his matriculation at least. “NPC is going to launch a countrywide campaign in this regard”, he said. He complimented the Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal for launching its Sweet Homes in the country where the marginalized children, mostly orphans, are being looked after and educated by various philanthropists. Zahid Malik advised the participants to work hard and shun despondency and do not get trapped by foreign-funded anti-Pakistan propaganda. Pakistan, he expressed his faith, has the blessing of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and it was bound to stand on its own feet and play a befitting role in the comity of nations. Dr. Ghulam Qasim Marwat, an educationist in his long lecture proved that the concept of Pakistan has its long history supported by civilizations and traditions. This concept cannot be undermined at all. Abdul Wahid Mir Siraj, a foreign educated Principal of Modernage Public School and College who is also convener of Abbottabad NPC chapter said Pakistan has bright future, its people are talented and it is bound to enter into a new phase of progress and peace. Later, a delegation of NPC visited Abbottabad Golf and Country Club where rare photographs of Quaid-i-Azam were placed in a room.

LAHORE: The built-in inequality in classrooms is stopping children from learning well. This dilemma has put India in a “big stuck” and the situation in Pakistan is no different when looked through the lens of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER). This was stated by ASER Centre, India, director Dr Rukmani Banerji during her presentation on “Every child in school and … learning well? Evidence and experience from India” at the opening session of a two-day international conference on “Quality – Inequality Quandary – Transacting Learning Relevance & Teacher Education in South Asia” organised by the South Asia Forum for Education Development (SAFED) and Idara-i-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) in collaboration with the Education Testing Service (ETS), Princeton; UK aid and Foundation Open Society Institute at a hotel here on Wednesday. Dr Banerji said survey reports in rural India showed that classes’ composition was complex in terms of students’ age, language and learning levels, resulting in huge implications for instruction and equity. Quoting ASER survey results, she said students of different learning levels and capacities were sitting in a classroom and teachers were teaching all of them on a par. Resultantly, students’ learning levels were found far less than the desired levels. At least, she said, fifth standard students must be fluent in reading Grade-II text and solve similar level arithmetic questions. She regretted that textbook level for a specific grade was too difficult for most children and classrooms were not friendly at all. Still, Dr Banerji said, “big change can happen if governments make strategic moves based on evidence and reality”. In India, she said, close to 200 million children (97 per cent) aged 6-14 were enrolled in schools. There was a need for India as well as Pakistan to move from ensuring schooling to guaranteeing learning for all children. ANP vice-president Bushra Gohar said children should be more important to any government and stressed the need to invest more in education from country’s own resources instead of looking toward the World Bank and other donor agencies. She said only “political will” could help bring about a change in the depressing education scene in the country. Calling for strict accountability process, Ms Gohar stressed the need for improving village schools as well as strengthening public-private partnership. She said there was a lot of political pressure for posting and transfers of teachers and “teachers have been lost somewhere in the system”. Punjab Planning and Development Department Secretary Tahir Ali said the Punjab government was spending one-third of its budget on education, but not getting the value for money. He said available resources needed to be used efficiently and more focus should be on service delivery. Stating that equity in education was as big challenge as Education for All, Mr Ali stressed the need for providing equal opportunities and level playing field to children of all segments of the society to expect impact. At present, he said, there was a two-fold discrimination in terms of educational opportunities for all — public and private schooling as well as rural and urban divide. He said there was a need to continuously invest in education to transform 59 per cent of country’s youth into quality human resource. With the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, he said, it was now responsibility of the state to provide education to all and this would not be possible without private sector’s support. ITA Programmes Director Baela Raza Jamil said it was quite a journey since 2000 to address sub-optimal functioning of public schools through a sector-wide approach to bring quality education to Pakistani children. She said this regional seminar would hopefully serve as a platform for several policy dialogues on key themes. Speaking through a video link, ETS senior vice-president Dr Michael said ETS would take ideas from this seminar to educate children at their early age.

ISLAMABAD - PML-Q Secretary General, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, has said that education for all is the key to Pakistan’s progress and removal of poverty. He made these remarks as chief guest at the annual function of a special school for the underprivileged in one of Islamabad’s suburbs, the House of Light. The function held at Pind Baghwal, was attended by large number of students as well as their parents. In his speech, Senator Mushahid Hussain said that educational initiatives of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan through Aligarh Muslim University which educated generations of Muslims through modern educational means, there would have been no Pakistan Movement and no independent state of Pakistan. He said that education does not just mean getting degrees or diplomas, it also means inculcating the right values of vision, and, in this regard, he uplauded the vision of the House of Light, which says, “Education should result in tolerance”. Criticising the current value system in Pakistan where people with big houses and big cars were respected while those whose vision was high and had lofty ideals but no bank balance were not given due respect. He appreciated the fact that the House of Light was providing free education services to the children of the poorest section of society. Senator Mushaid Hussain lauded this educational initiative as reflecting the self-starter citizens’ activism and positive philanthropic approach of middle class Pakistanis who had launched this initiative without any help from the government or any big investor but was running it through contribution on a self-help basis.

By Asghar Azad KARACHI: Has the Sindh government taken proper steps for providing education to every child of five to 16 years of age in order to fulfill its constitutional responsibility under the 18th Constitutional Amendment’s Article 25-A, question was raised in a constitutional petition submitted in the Sindh High Court (SHC) by nine non-governmental organisations (NGOs) through Advocate Faisal Siddiqi. The SHC’s division bench, comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Shafi Muhammad Siddiqi on Tuesday issued notice to the secretary Sindh Education Department for appearing in-person before the court on May 2. In the submitted petition, Advocate Siddiqi stated, “The provision of free and compulsory education at primary and secondary level is an inevitable requirement of the entire country and one of every ten children not going to school in the world lives in Pakistan”. He further stated in the petition that according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute of Statistics Report 2011, as many as 3,108,413 boys and 4,191,384 girls could not join schools at primary level. The petition also cited an observation of the World Bank which stated that access, equity and quality primary and secondary education keeps-on a challenge in Sindh province. “About 11 million five to 14-year-old children could not join schools in the year 2007. Only 53 percent of individuals of 17 to 21 years of age had completed their secondary schooling”, claimed the cited observation report. According to the Pakistan Living Standard Measurement Survey (PLSMS) 2007-8, the primary enrollment across Pakistan is 35 percent (in private schools) and out of it in 27 percent is for Sindh province and only five percent for Sindh rural areas. Talking to Daily Times outside the courtroom Advocate Siddiqi said the education’s situation in our country especially in Sindh province was deteriorating rapidly and they approached with the SHC for bringing some betterment in the sector. Advocate Siddiqi further said “We submitted the right of education is enshrined under Article 9, of the Constitution of 1973, because right to life includes a right to respectable education”. “One of the principle of policies for the governance of the State as enshrined under Article 37 (b), of constitution belongs to removal of illiteracy and provision of free and compulsory secondary education within a minimum possible period”, Advocate Siddiqi said. Replying to a query he said, after the passage of 18th Amendment Act, 2010, there are two fundamental changes, one the responsibility for education has devolved to the province which have made respondent in the petition; secondly, in addition to the Article 9 and Article 37, of the Constitution of 1973, Article 25-A grants a fundamental right for free education to all children of less than 5 to 16 years of age.

SLAMABAD: Social groups and citizens have expressed their grave concern over the rising menace of child labour in twin cities, saying the ever-increasing poverty in the country is the main reason behind child labour. Citizens said that it is quite astonishing that child labour exists at the same rate in the federal capital as in the other parts of the country. Pakistan is one of the countries where child labour has surged to its highest level, they added. They said that the lack of opportunities, high rate of population growth, unemployment, and uneven distribution of resources and outdated social customs are the main factors behind this social menace. Children from the ages of 9 to 18 are almost equally vulnerable to child labour. Children work in the federal capital’s industrial area where they work under extreme pressure and are paid less as compared to other workers. online

Tears streamed down my face as I sat with my son in a Cambridge Arts Picture House watching a film about Umthombo – a charity in Durban, South Africa that helps street children. Umthombo have been involved with fielding a team for the Street Child World Cup and the film was a moving testament to the amazing ability sport has to transform people’s lives. When the film ended, Chris Rose from Amos Trust – the organisation behind Street Child World Cup – spoke about the successes in the other countries who had fielded teams in the 2010 competition. Eight national teams had taken part: Brazil; India; Nicaragua; Philippines; Tanzania; UK; and Ukraine. Durban is home to the biggest Indian population in a city outside of India – so perhaps fitting that India won the tournament in a match watched by the South African Minister for Children – and they returned home to an exuberant crowd after extensive media coverage. One of the players, Jatinder Singh was later picked for the India under 16s World Cup team. -Courtesy of Street Child World Cup. As Chris spoke about their aspirations for Brazil in 2014 – for more teams to raise more awareness of the plight of street children worldwide – I couldn’t help but think of Pakistan. I had been writing about football and its power to bring about positive change in Pakistan – could this initiative help them? -Courtesy of Street Child World Cup. The starting point has been to find out about Pakistan’s street children. I was honestly staggered at how many Pakistanis I spoke to (both in the UK and in Pakistan) who claimed that Pakistan simply didn’t have a problem with homelessness and children. Some even bragged that Pakistan was “not a country of beggars”, like neighbouring India. My mission on these pages is not about casting further shadows on Pakistan – who is already blighted with negative press – but to showcase wherever possible, the better, inspirational aspects of the nation, in the hope that a more encouraging narrative emerges to fuel positive change. So perhaps rather than pointing out the obvious – that, despite the title of this piece, Pakistan has a problem, like many other countries in the world, with children sleeping on the streets, often alone and abused – here is space to look at the remarkable work of people in Pakistan who do not turn a blind eye to the ills of Pakistan’s most vulnerable. So far I have unearthed two amazing charities who work specifically with street children. I am sure there are others – and I encourage them to share their work with links on these pages. The DOST Foundation has been graced with an article about their work in the Huffington Post. The article “Pakistan school strives to beat the Taliban trap” paints a bleak picture, but more of the drug trap than of the Taliban trap. The crucial thing not to miss is the meaning of DOST (i.e “friend”) and the hugely motivated team behind the charity. -Courtesy of DOST Foundation. I was in touch with Dr Parveen Azam Khan, and asked her what she would say to someone who said Pakistan had no such problems. She said that, “homelessness in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a problem for human beings most affected by the so called ‘war on terror’, as we are on the frontline, bordering Afghanistan. Many of the refugees from Afghanistan who took refuge in the area more than 30 years ago are still here. Their children are also homeless street children. Besides this, the big earthquake and recent floods rendered many families homeless. Added to all this, the ongoing insurgency, militancy and being in the war zone has led to an escalation in poverty and homelessness”. To get an idea of the scale of their work (and of the problem), since 1993 DOST, which Dr Khan established, has provided services to over 11,000 street children – with close to 4000 children provided with psycho-social and rehabilitation services. Dr Khan said that the biggest challenge faced by the children on the streets and prisons is the lack of financial support for organizations like DOST, “who continue against all odds to reach out with a message of hope and healing to these “lesser children””. She added, “any support extended to us by donors is for six to 12 months only, whereas the needs are increasing and never ending”. -Courtesy of DOST Foundation. Perhaps reducing the figure from 11,000 down to one will reach you. I asked Dr Khan for some examples of the children who had been helped and amongst others she sent me this rather basic set of bullet points, which moved me deeply. It was on a page headed, “if there is a person who is symbol of courage and firm determination it is Osama.” • Osama – a 13 year old Pakistani boy who ran away from home 3 years ago. • He is a child of a broken family. • At that time he was 10, when his father died during the war in Afghanistan. Osama’s father was in the Taliban Forces and wanted Osama to be a mujahid. • Sudden death of his father and physical torture of his step mother made Osama run away from home. • Osama went to Swabi, where he spent 2 years. But was sexually abused by the owner of a hotel. • He ran away and came to Peshawar. • This time again the little boy got abused sexually on the street. • DOST outreach team found him on the street, it motivated him for shelter at DOST Welfare Foundation, where he was rehabilitated. • He still wants to join Taliban to become a Holy Warrior. • Despite all these hurdles and homelessness, Osama is still so innocent and loveable. -Courtesy of DOST Foundation. The fact that someone could write about this child as a lovable innocent is true testament to the human spirit. Another boy, Dr Khan told me about was 10 year old Yaseen who is a drug addict and involved in the sex trade to get cash. As the work of Umthombo in South Africa shows – no matter how drug addled and abused, no child should be given up on. A second charity – The Azad Foundation was introduced to me by pure chance. They operate in Karachi – a city where I had been assured had no homeless children. Azad’s website describes how, for many children fleeing poverty and the pressure to “earn”, landing on the street seems to be a pleasant experience at first, “a sense of freedom, curiosity fueled by passion to crush the ghost past under feet, sadly when reality emerges into realisation life unfolds its horrible wings”. Azad, which emerged in 1998 as an initiative by students and staff at Karachi University, includes a creative approach – they have formed theatre to highlight the issue. “Class divisions and poverty were the most talked about issues” says Azad, with discrimination apparently based on the social, economic or ethnic backgrounds of the children. Azad have undertaken serious research into the problem of street children, not just in Karachi, but in Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. Eight years ago they established the first drop in center for the protection and rehabilitation of street children. The center was initiated in Saddar Town in Karachi – one of the few places I have visited in Pakistan and now regret not “dropping in”. Last Friday, I spent one single night sleeping on the streets of London, with 60 others. Between us we raised close to £10,000 for Street Child World Cup by one simple, if cold and uncomfortable act. Of those I asked to sponsor me, it was the British Pakistani community who glowed brightest – more than half of the funds I raised came from them. And you might think this a grim article – but it those that give, those that act and those that commit their lives to organisations like Azad and DOST that we should be celebrating. Dr Parveen Azam Khan is a very special woman indeed – but there is genuine hope and generosity in many of us – especially in Pakistan. -Courtesy of DOST Foundation. You might wonder how taking a small team of footballers comprising of homeless children might make a difference. In 2010 the Tanzanian team returned home and lead discussions for 50 police commanders about their rights, which drew the attention of the President. The Mayor greeted the Ukrainian team, but travelling with them was the regional governor of Kharkiv, who is now committed to working with children’s institutions. The team from the UK continue to meet with youth workers and some are pursuing ambitions in professional sport. Every single member of the Nicaraguan team are off the streets and have been reintegrated with their families under the programme. The major media coverage the Brazil team received has helped change people’s attitude to street children and there is much work being done to prepare for The next Street Child World Cup in Brazil. So from Pakistan’s street children, let’s hope to see a team for Brazil in 2014 – it would be great to see them challenge India in an exciting final! Caroline Jaine is a UK based writer, artist and film-maker with a background in media strategy, training and diplomacy. Her book A Better Basra, about her time in Iraq was published in August 2011. More about Caroline’s work and her contact details can be found here and on facebook. The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.