ABOUT  REACH

“READ (IQRA)”, was the first word revealed to our beloved Prophet Muhammad, (Peace be upon him). It is ironical that more than half the population of a country created in the name of Islam, the religion of the followers of  Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), is illiterate. A sizable number of the so called LITERATE can barely read and write, with the majority of them dwelling in the rural areas of the country. Even religious education is not conducted in any organized manner. The imam of the village mosque is entrusted the duty of teaching the children how to read the Quran, without developing any understanding of the contents. With this background, REACH, the NGO, was founded for alleviating the sufferings of the poor masses living in the rural areas of Pakistan through provision of meaningful education. It was registered with the Government of Punjab, Pakistan, Directorate of Social Welfare on 27 September 2003.

The following objectives were spelled out for the NGO by its founders:-

a.                  Provide quality education to the impoverished children.

b.                  Impart vocational training to the youth so as to enable them to earn a livelihood for self and family.

c.                  Provide basic health care facility to the needy, mother and child.

d.                  Develop awareness amongst the masses of their rights, privileges and responsibilities towards the society.

e.                  Educate the families on personal hygiene, sanitation, family planning and communicable diseases.

f.                    Impart informal education to grown ups in order to increase their literacy level.

g.                  Rehabilitation of widows and orphans and the less privileged members of the society.

h.                  Provide interest free loans and stipends to bright students for higher education.

j.          Accept donations to manage/finance a particular project or provide financial assistance to individual(s) for specific purpose on behalf of the donor.

REACH School

The first project undertaken by the NGO was in the field of education. A high school for boys and girls has been established in a village about 40 KMs out of Lahore on a piece of land measuring 8 acres, which was donated by Chaudhry Muhammad Sharif, the President of REACH. The school is functional since 2005, as a free day school catering to the needs of the poor. No tuition fee is charged from any student. In addition, free writing material, books, uniform and transport are provided to the children of EXTREMELY poor families (about 75 percent of current enrolled strength of around 500 students). Presently, the school has classes from prep to seven. INSHALLAH by 2010, the first batch will appear in the secondary school exam (matriculation).

Vocational Training

Vocational training forms one of the corner stones of the education system at REACH. After finishing his formal education, the children will be put through a course of vocational training in a trade of his choice / capability.  A vocational training complex consisting of ten class rooms and workshops has been constructed in REACH compound. Training in four trades is currently being imparted to the youth of the surrounding villages, since our own students are still at school.

Health Unit

REACH has also embarked upon construction of a small health unit to cater for the health needs of the students in particular and the community in general. The complex is being designed keeping in view the future needs of the community as well as the upcoming Special children’s school. It will have facilities for health care of mother and child, operation theatre for cataract operations, as well as minor surgery and general medical care. The cases of major surgery will be referred to the Government hospital in Lahore.

Adult Literacy Program

There is a large population in rural areas of Pakistan which is illiterate. An adult literacy program is being worked out in consultation with the government and village elders to ensure it fulfils the needs of the community. The aim will be to enable the adults to read and write, make them aware of basic healthcare needs, citizenship, religious education etcetera.

Construction of Mosque

It is a pity that the village of Billianwala Khu has no mosque. In addition, there is a student population which will go upto 1000 soon which has no place for worship. A mosque has been planned adjacent to the school building which will fulfil the needs of the village as well as the students. It is likely to cost about five million rupees.

Provision of Clean Drinking Water

There is no sweet water available in the area. Shallow water is brackish and people by compulsion have to drink it. There is a plan to sink a deep water well (upto 600 feet) from where sweet water will be pumped out. The cost of this project is around two million rupees.

Audit of Accounts

Audit of accounts is carried out annually by KPMG (Pakista) a renowned firm of chartered accountants. The last audit was carried out in March 2007.

Special Children’s Complex

We have also donated land to the District Government of Lahore for the construction of a special children’s complex. It will have classes upto matriculation, hostel facility, medical care and sports facilities for the special children. The modalities of the project are being discussed with the concerned Government functionaries.

We are grateful to ALLAH ALMIGHTY for having given us the guidance, fortitude, and resources to deliver this project in such a short time. We pray to HIM for continuous guidance and blessings to take this project to its envisioned end. Here, I would also like to acknowledge the contributions in cash and kind, made by friends, family members and many others who have done so anonymously. InshaAllah ‘ALLAH SUBHANAWATALA’ will reward them for their noble deed.