WHY WE DO IT!
Keeping in view the great emphasis being given to education by our beloved Mowlana Hazar Imam, and also in view of his recent guidance and hidayat - that those jamaat members who are well-resourced (professionally and financially), should support their less developed and deserving brethren – our prime objective is to support them.
Therefore, we decided to focus on educationally starved areas. While doing so, we will put more emphasis on the hidayat that, the best service is to serve the needy. In this regard, an initiative has been taken:
Aga Khan School, Garden, Karachi — where the initiative began in January 2019.
300+children in needTHE INITIATIVE
Keeping in view the above guidance and hidayat, in January 2019, a few former students of the Aga Khan School, Garden, Karachi, including the former Executive Committee members of Ex-boys and Ex-Girls Associations (later known as 'Ex-students' Association) met informally. They realized that they, other like-minded former students, and the well-wishers of Aga Khan School, Garden, can and should complement educational programs and activities.
It was agreed to take initiative in this respect. A series of meetings and consultations were carried out in Jan-March 2019 with concerned institutions and individuals to quickly assess the educational status in the Garden Jurisdiction of Karachi, Pakistan. It was agreed that the Group will be known as 'Ex-students' Group to Support Education' (EGSE)
SOME FINDINGS OF THE QUICK ASSESSMENT
It was found that although various institutions and groups and individuals are putting their best efforts to meet educational needs in the jurisdiction, there still exist several gaps.
Some of these are:
- Motivation for mobilizing resources to support various programs being carried out by different institutions but much more is required.
- Accessibility of needy and deserving students to quality education is not universal.
- There is a need to complement the knowledge and skills of students for self-development beyond the regular curriculum.
One of the most disturbing facts was that over 300 children could not go to good-quality schools in the jurisdiction due to financial constraints.
Fortunately, the Group also perceived that there are potential areas where the former students of Aga Khan Garden School and the well-wishers can put together their strengths and resources to address these constraints.
PURPOSE
Therefore, it was agreed to put together a plan and develop different proposals and implement these to complement the efforts of our institutions, utilizing the potential strengths and capabilities of former students and other well-wishers.