Activities in
Northern Pakistan
Our work in Northern Pakistan has centered around Aga Khan schools in Sherqilla, Gahkuch, Ishkoman and Darkut. At each of these locations we have provided students with support in fees and in covering the costs of their boarding.
Supporting students in Sherqilla
In Sherqilla, we supported several students with their tuition for attending school and for the cost of their board at local boarding houses. In addition, we provided computers to the boarding houses so that the students would have access to it outside of school. We loaded portable Khan Academy, called Khan Academy Lite, on the school’s computer to allow students to have access to this educational resource.
Transforming Education in Gahkuch and Darkut
Fresh Water Well in Gahkuch
In Gahkuch, we supported the girls dormitory by digging a well for fresh water. Prior to this, the girls in the dormitory had limited access to water as they were dependent on water delivered by trucks. Here again we provided off line Internet access through Rachel Pro and with a laptop and printers so that the students in the dormitory would have greater access to educational resources.
Special Classes in Darkut to study for entrance exams
Due to the remoteness of Darkut (the roads end here and the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan is less than ten kilometers away), educational resources had not yet reached them in a meaningful way. One elementary school was available for children. However, due to lack of teachers willing to go to Darkut, the level of teaching at Darkut was not high enough to allow students to do well. As such, they seldom qualified to get admitted into the Aga Khan Schools in larger towns for their secondary education. We established a summer session in Darkut with teachers paid by the Foundation to work with students to get them qualified for the entrance exams. We had limited success with this but our work got the attention of AKES-P and a full fledged Secondary School was built in Darkut to serve the people of this community.
Our primary area of work in Northern Pakistan is in Gilgit. The schools we work with are North and East of Gilgit. Gahkuch and Ishkoman are two of the places noted on the map below. We also work with schools in Sherqilla located between the cities of Gilgit and Gahkuch and with the village of Darkut further north of Ishkoman.
We provide tuition and boarding support to many students at these locations so that they are able to go to school. In addition, we have provided computers, printers and Rachel Pro units. We have loaded the computers with Khan Academy software so that students have access to this resource.
In dormitories, where the girls live, we have made improvements in lighting and provided games and television sets so that students are able to spend some time doing things outside of their studies.
MAP OF DISTRICT GHIZER
This is a helpful map to visualize where we work in Northern Pakistan. Darkut lies further north of Hundur and the road north ends here, about ten miles from the Afghanistan border.
THE AGA KHAN SCHOOL SHERQILLA
This school was built as a Silver Jubilee project and both Shah Karim Aga Khan and his wife Princess Salimah were at the opening ceremony of the school.
Principal Jahangir Khan in front of the entrance to The Aga Khan School Sherqilla
Back view of the Aga Khan School Sherqilla with mountains in the background
The Aga Khan School in Gahkuch
Girls Dormitory in Gahkuch. Approximately forty girls stay here during the school year.
Girls in their dorm rooms. Due to lack of furniture, students study sitting on their bunk beds. We dug a well by the dorm so that students would have access to fresh water at all times.
The road ends here as we approach the village of Darkut
View of Darkut from Upper Darkut
Special Classes in Darkut to study for entrance exams
Due to the remoteness of Darkut (the roads end here and the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan is less than ten kilometers away), educational resources had not yet reached them in a meaningful way. One elementary school was available for children. However, due to lack of teachers willing to go to Darkut, the level of teaching at Darkut was not high enough to allow students to do well. As such, they seldom qualified to get admitted into the Aga Khan Schools in larger towns for their secondary education. We established a summer session in Darkut with teachers paid by the Foundation to work with students to get them qualified for the entrance exams. We had limited success with this, but our work got the attention of AKES-P and a full-fledged Secondary School was built in Darkut to serve the people of this community.
One of the most harrowing drives we did was to Upper Darkut. Road work was going on and we were making hairpin turns on an unpaved road looking down into deep valleys. In the distance, you can see the village of Darkut.
Sponsoring a Child
This is a new program that we are spearheading in a few villages in Northern Pakistan. See our Sponsoring a Child page for information about this exciting pilot project.