Reading made Fun at Engro’s Adopted Schools

Karachi, Feb 10, 2016: In an inauguration ceremony held yesterday at a local hotel, Engro Foundation, upon receiving a grant of PKR 22 million from USAID Small Grants and Ambassador’s Fund Program, initiated a reading program in their 13 adopted schools of Qadirpur and Daharki.

Titled the “Engro Reading Program,” funding will provide 1,300+ primary school children with Information Communication Tools (ICT) to further their reading skills in the 3 languages of Urdu, Sindhi and English. The grant also includes language laboratories with computers, winter and summer camps, and inter and intra school competitions in reading and spelling.

It has been proven that the success of a child’s education extends beyond the student to those in the family. With this in mind, Engro Foundation has provided a participatory approach for the program to include community sessions and storytelling initiatives to record folk tales for children by parents, older siblings and grandparents.

Speaking at the occasion, Zulfiqar Ahmed, ¬who heads Public Affairs for Engro in Daharki, said: “This is another proud moment for Engro. I would like to extend my immense gratitude to the USAID Small Grants and Ambassador’s Fund Program team for helping us make the reading project a reality and enabling us to further educate future generations.”

Under the umbrella of this grant, adult literacy classes will also commence with 200 women from neighboring communities, to further basic literacy and numeracy skills in everyday life. Alongside these activities teacher trainings will also take place, to build the capacities of teachers specifically with regard to reading pedagogy in schools.

It is estimated that 70% of primary school children in Pakistan are unable to read a simple sentence as per grade level – we hope that this program drives the change needed in service of Pakistan’s children.