Save Maternal and Infant Lives in Pakistan

Dear HOPE Friends, 

HOPE Hosts Annual Function for Home School Students in Azad Kashmir - Featuring KIREA's Bani Langrial Children

In mid-April 2025, children from HOPE's Azad Kashmir Home School network convened to take part in an Annual Function in which students were lauded for their academic achievements throughout the year.  This gathering was replete with various cultural skits and performances and children were given new books and school supplies.  HOPE's AJK Home School Coordinator, Ms. Naila, along with HOPE's Maternal and Child Healthcare Coordinator, Ms. Sanjeeda, worked fastidiously to ensure a successful event.

HOPE's AJK Annual Home School function was attended by children from four of HOPE's Jhelum Valley, AJK Home Schools:

• Bani Langrial (sponsored by KIREA)
• Habib Dori
• Dhani Bakalan
• Thota 

While these children live amongst the breathtaking scenery of Azad Kashmir year-round, their families struggle with meeting basic needs such as Healthcare, Education, and Food Security.  The high altitudes at which these families live along with the remoteness of their villages in various mountaintops can pose significant and often life-threatening challenges to the already-burdensome situation of poverty.  Last, but not least, political tensions and conflict remain a troublesome reality for families living in contested territories.  For over a decade, HOPE has been a prominent interventional aspect of the vitality of Jhelum Valley via our poverty alleviation measures involving Healthcare, Education, Vocational Training, and Food Security.

Currently, HOPE's presence in AJK impacts over 2,000 needy families in the region.  We have revived the concept of Home Schooling in various remote areas in Pakistan such as AJK, along with urban city neighborhoods and far-flung villages.  Home schools engage the communities they serve by employing educated women (whom parents trust) as teachers.  Home schools are a cost-effective and innovative solution to addressing the availability of schools barrier that has been overlooked in Pakistan for far too long.

HOPE's AJK Home School Annual Function was met with great enthusiasm by local dignitaries, parents, community members, and children.  These events help ensure and motivate these families to keep fighting to help break free from the barriers of poverty.

We would like to extend our appreciation to our supporters for their generosity in helping those in need.  In particular, for this function, we would like to highlight our organizational partner, KIREA, for sponsoring 50 underserved children in Bani Langrial since 2024.  While the mountainous regions of AJK are known to be remote, the village of Bani Langrial is even moreso difficult to reach than other regions in the area.  Prior to KIREA's intervention, the children of Bani Langrial were significantly delayed in terms of their educational progress - by establishing a Home School within the village itself, KIREA has made noteworthy strides in the opportunities available for children of Bani Langrial.

Our gratitude to all our supporters as we work to create stability for vulnerable children and families in AJK, especially amid less than ideal circumstances!

Warm regards, 

The HOPE USA, HOPE UK, and HOPE Pakistan Teams

Links:

• Journalist Hamdani's Post on AJK Home School Function