Report from BHW Pakistan Partnership Facilitator Following Visit

Key person:  Barbara Gill

In March 2023 a team of four from BHW visited and spent several hours talking with the Gills and visiting the school. We met the teachers and were shown a presentation by the students which was cute. We were also given metal etched plates as a memento of the visit and as thanks for the help given in the past. 

Recent Events

Activities

Prior to Covid the school roll had grown to about 180 students and they were hopeful about its future. Then Covid came and things became very difficult. They were able to continue paying the teachers, who knows how, and they kept them all. However, the parents are even poorer now, many cannot pay, and more are struggling to pay. As well, costs have gone through the roof for school materials, fuel and food. Their costs have increased as well. 

The local Mullah has opened an English Medium School adjacent to the mosque nearby and is attracting children away by several means. Many families have left the area for Covid and economic reasons and gone to rural areas where it is cheaper to live. On re-opening, numbers had taken a nose-dive. It has started to pick up again and right now there are 130 students in school. Daily more are coming as the new year is just beginning, however it’s only a trickle and most of them are people who cannot pay full fees.  

Current Situation

We spent some time talking with Barbara, Azam and Azar about the situation. Azar’s read on it is that the only way it could generate a profit would be for more students to come from the local community, however, they are nearly all Muslims and will be enticed to go to the other school. Also, the community is not growing very quickly. It is still not in a high population area and not on a good road; it’s too far from the significant population. 

Last time we told them that there were too many staff and that the class sizes were too small to be profitable and they would need at least 250 students to make it work. Little of that has been able to be implemented. 

There have been some improvements to the buildings and extensions, but they still require a lot of work, and the furniture is in very bad shape. They also require some new laptops. 

This will never be an income earning, profit producing project. We have said this before, that is the reality. We have sent the last amount of funding we had promised on the basis that there would be a serious review after this visit. 

It will always be a charity and we must make any decisions based on that fact. At present the school requires about US$500/month to continue to grow and thrive. Azam is currently having to find that much to subsidise it and we have no idea where that money comes from. He finds it, but it doesn’t come in a timely way and regularly enough, so they are always playing catchup. It also compromises his ability to do some of the other things he wants to do. In a sense, this is not our problem, but it does affect all other areas of their ministry and places severe pressure on them. 

Partnership's Influence within the Community

It is hard to gauge but the school is very helpful for the students and families that are involved. The standard of education remains very high but under severe pressure from lack of funds. Compromises have had to be made, although Azam is really frustrated at the amount of money he must put into it. Barbara is relentless, this is her baby. 

Every day parents come to try and enrol their children. But it is largely the poor and those who cannot pay. We think there are some who are taking advantage and abusing the grace, especially the “Christians,” because they are only Christian because of the family they were born into. There is little grace in this country, even among Christians.  

The fact that the church which has been only operating for a few years has grown to more than 100 members says something about the impact and reputation of the school. Some Christian families have shifted to this community because of the school. 

Current Issues and Challenges

The number of students continues to be an issue although there will be an increase over the next few years. 

Largely because of the type of families attending the school, there is a monthly shortfall of funds. 

The Gill family is under significant pressure because of the school.  

Prayer and Praise Points

1) That the school has been able to recommence after Covid.
2) The church is growing, and the school has been a significant factor in that.
3) That so many poor and marginalized children are obtaining a great education. This could be a very significant turnaround for whole families. 

Comments

They are very committed to keeping this school going, however, it does require regular input of funds and that is a question we need to respond to. 

I think there is a good argument that we should continue with this at some level. Where else can we invest in the lives of dozens of Muslim children, poor Christians, and Pathan people who are radically opposed to Christianity.