Electricity shortages in schools in Northern Pakistan

In the northern part of Pakistan, surrounded by the towering mountains of the Karakoram range is the region of Gilgit-Baltistan. This very peaceful part of the country used to be the second most popular mountain climbing destination in the world until the attacks in New York on 9/11. Regardless of the worlds perception locals know and support the education of their children. To my surprise almost all the schools in this area – pubic and government – have a 50/50 ration of girls and boys attending. This is a positively surprising statistic we often do not hear about regarding this part of the world. My First School Pty Ltd is an Australian charity who’s primary aim is to promote education in this part of the country since 2011. With the help of locals certain public schools are chosen and given donations in order to raise the standards of the establishments and the education. These donations are in the form of furniture, water tanks, bricks, materials to fix the structure, books, teachers and a small sponsorship program for children to attend school. The main obstacle at times is the rationed electricity supplies in the remote villages. Many schools do not have electricity and for those who do it is rationed twice a day which often means that during school hours the children are left in the dark only relying on the sunlight piercing through the windows. In summer time this is not an issue but in winter. While the sun remains low between the mountain peaks which can reach above 7000 meters it causes even more difficulties for the students to read and write. This series of images portrays some schools I visited which struggle the most with these issues. How to fix it is an issue which can only be dealt with by being independent and purchasing generators so each school can have electricity when needed for light and heating during the winter months. Regardless of these obstacles, which in the western world would not be acceptable, the children and their parents persevere as there is no other option at this stage and obtaining an education is the only solution for improvement of their lives and communities. For more information on My First School activities www.my-first-school.org Books produced after each annual trip can be purchased: http://www.my-first-school.org/book/ all the proceeds go to the charity. At this stage My First School Pty Ltd does not have a deductible gift recipient status and therefore cannot issue an invoice for tax deductions on any purchase or donation.