A SCHOOL FOR IQBAL

classroom crowd

February 1997 Update

Thanks for visiting our "School for Iqbal" web site . We have been very, very busy raising awareness of the issue of child bonded labor and busy raising funds to build hope,
and "A School for Iqbal" in Pakistan.  Here's what's happening :

Students and others in all 50 states and 22 nations have worked electronically, hand in hand, to raise awareness of Iqbal, of child bonded labor, and of  "The Kids Campaign to Build A School for Iqbal." As of last Friday, tens of thousands of students have raised $143,200  and we are proud to publically announce that

"A School for Iqbal" has OPENED in Pakistan !

classroom

We did it! Thanks to each of you who made a dream become a reality.

How did we accomplish this?  Here are the details :

We started in May of 1995, making noise online, raising awareness and funds to build "A School for Iqbal." Once we realized we could raise money, we had to build a bridge of friendship to non-governmental organizations in Pakistan. Our goal was to work shoulder to shoulder with grassroots Pakistani organizations who not only knew the child labor problem, but also had solutions in mind.

Last February (1996) we sent out 300 requests for proposals to non-governmental organizations worldwide searching for one which would be willing to work with us to actually build a school for Iqbal. We did that during February vacation.

In March 1996, we spent weekends and after-school-meetings reviewing the 12 proposals submitted. All 12 were excellent.

In April, on the first anniversary of Iqbal's murder, we announced that we had chosen a partner to actually build "A School for Iqbal" in Pakistan.We chose Sudhaar, a small, well respected non-governmental organization based in Lahore, Pakistan, as our choice. Here's what they are doing with our hard earned money :

  1. Built and OPENED a school for 278 of the poorest of the poor children, ages 4-12, working children who have never gone to school before. The school is in Kasur city, in Pakistan, in the Punjab Province (which is the Province where Iqbal was born, was sold and was murdered ) .
  2. Beginning in April of 1997 Sudhaar will activate a small credit program at the Iqbal School which will allow 50 families to buy back children they sold into bonded labor (on the condition those children are enrolled at our school ) .
  3. Established the Iqbal Masih Education Foundation which will pay all daily operating expenses of the school for years to come.  

So, you see, there is a school for Iqbal, thanks to big-hearted people like you!

A bullet can't kill a dream.

Spread the word!

from,

The School for Iqbal Student Leaders
Broad Meadows Middle School
50 Calvin Rd.
Quincy, MA 02169

USA

fax 617-984-8834

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