Building Communities in
Pakistan
At Jam Chakro, families live and work among burning waste, with more than 100 tons of garbage dumped at the site each day. Children who should be in classrooms are instead working in hazardous conditions just to survive. Literacy rates were nearly zero.
Since our partnership with Idara Al Khair (IAK) began in 2011, we’ve helped turn the tide. IAK has been serving Karachi’s underserved communities since 1985, and today, 90% of their work is carried out in strategic partnership with Thaakat Foundation. Our schools are built as community centers, complete with playgrounds, sports fields, computer labs and libraries. To combat hunger and malnutrition, we provide on campus meals for all students. We aim to present our students with a best in class educational experience.
Together, we’ve expanded from a single school to a network of six campuses, offering access to quality education to more than 4,000 students, where there once was none. Today, we’re proud to share that over 40% of our enrolled students are girls, a powerful step toward equity and empowerment.
Tackling Female Illiteracy
Today, 49% of our 1,300 students are female and 70% of our college enrollees are female. As girls enter our schools, they are inspiring extended family members to do the same. The sky is the limit for these young women who share that their education makes them feel their hopes and dreams are boundless!
Absolving poverty requires a multi-faceted approach, education is one of them.
1,300 students arrive at 7 am each morning, eager to learn something new in our classrooms each day.
Changing the World.One Story at a Time.
“I am the second girl in my family, who is getting an education from Thaakat. There was a time, my patriarchal family was the main hurdle in the way of my education. After the graduation of my sister from this same school circumstances changed.
In the past, boys were always given higher importance than girls. Now, we are equally treated. In my family, my father did not use to support me in educational matters, but my mother has always supported me. My father’s view regarding female education is changing gradually. The result is that my sister is teaching with the consent of my father.
The change of mind of my family towards female education is the widespread impact of the work of Thaakat and Al Khair Welfare.”
—Laila, 9th Grade Student
Thaakat DREAMS Campus 8
Delivering Better Health Services to Pakistan's Poor
Over the last two decades, while imparting quality education for the villages in and around Jam Charko, our team observed the effects of the absence of adequate healthcare facilities in the areas where we operate.
Lack of healthcare facilities and infrastructure in these slum areas can have several negative effects on the community. Today, we operate an 8 bed medical facility which treats an average of 1,500 patients monthly. Our specialists s provide surgeries such as gallstone and kidney stone removal, tonsillectomies, hernia repairs and so much more.
Our next milestone is to construct a 50 bed ENT specialty and general healthcare focused tertiary care hospital located central to all of our campuses.
Clean Water is a Basic Right
Thaakat is working to provide clean water in the drought stricken regions
of Tharparkar, Pakistan
In the district of Tharparker, located southeast of Sindh, Pakistan, more than 90% of the population lives in rural villages without access to clean water.
Women and girls often have to travel more than three miles to collect water and spend an average of three to five hours fetching water.
We’ve launched more than 2 dozen solar-powered water plants in this drought-stricken region. Water flows at the tug of a handle and the whole family happily engages in the process. The women benefit greatly from these solar wells but so do livestock and agriculture. It is transforming communities!
