The Rowland Ward Foundation and the Akhuwat Initiative have formed a joint project to help transform the educational landscape of Pakistan while empowering communities and conserving wildlife
Pakistan’s K-12 educational system has been grappling with a significant challenge: an estimated 22.8 million children are currently not enrolled in school, and students in rural areas are particularly affected.
To address this problem, the Akhuwat Initiative is pioneering a transformative model in rural areas where the shortage of qualified teachers is rampant. The new approach uses a centralized platform to deliver public education to rural children throughout Pakistan via live, cutting-edge digital programming. A remarkable aspect of this initiative is the establishment of physical classrooms throughout rural Pakistan that have access to the central station for conducting these live online classes. Skilled teachers in Karachi oversee the operations of online English, math, and science classes, while adult assistant teachers support the students in the physical classrooms.
The Rowland Ward Foundation is pleased to play a role in this important endeavor.
Skilled, licensed teachers in Karachi work with students in rural schools via an online curriculum. An assistant teacher is present in the classroom to help with the learning process.
The Akhuwat Initiative asked the Rowland Ward Foundation for funding to establish and maintain a remote-learning facility in the community of Phore, Pakistan, for a period of one to two years. The curriculum offered at the school will be tailored to include segments in the science classes explaining the principles of wildlife conservation and its benefits to their community.
The school is located 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) from Hingol National Park, one of the largest and most biodiverse parks in Pakistan, and home to animals such as the Blandford urial, Sindh ibex, and chinkara gazelle. It may also be home to the Asian or Persian cheetah; tracks of cheetahs have been found on several occasions, although none have been sighted in recent times. If they are there, these cheetahs would be the only ones known to exist in Pakistan.
A Sindh ibex in Hingol National Park.
While the park has been in existence since 1988, protection of its wild animals has not been ideal. To improve this situation, a hunting-conservation program commenced in the park in 2022. It’s expected that local communities adjacent to the park will start seeing economic benefits from the program soon. (It’s important to note that in Pakistan, a “park” is akin to a reserve or a protected area.)
The curriculum at the new school in Phore will emphasize the value of protecting the environment and the wildlife of the park. Once the hunting-conservation program in Hingol National Park becomes established, the school should become self-sustaining through the revenues generated by the program.
Classes are conducted for both boys and girls.
The Akhuwat Initiative is dedicated to expanding its presence across the province of Sindh, with the ambitious target of reaching 3,000 students. As this worthy endeavor gains momentum, the Rowland Ward Foundation hopes our partnership will expand to include other villages adjacent to hunting and conservation areas. All schools supported by the Rowland Ward Foundation will emphasize that the funding is made possible by the sustainable hunting practices carried out in the vicinity. As it nurtures a generation of enlightened, empowered, and motivated learners, the Akhuwat Initiative supports the Rowland Ward Foundation’s mission to instill in rural communities a deep sense of care for the environment and the abundant wildlife that thrives in their midst.
