Samira Quraishy travelled to Kashmir to work at READ Foundation's schools in Kashmir.  Here she shares her experiences...

All praises are due to Allah Most High who granted this opportunity and He alone knows how much this single trip has meant to me.

But I will try and put it into words for you here. You may find that I waft onto another tangent altogether as my mind goes back to what is commonly known as ‘heaven on earth’, but I hope that you will be able to comprehend even a little of the awe-inspiring moments that will be forever remembered, if Allah Most Kind wills.

As we touched down at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad I felt nervous.  With all the training and skills we had developed over the past few months, questions were running through my mind – would I be able to deliver? Would I do MADE in Europe justice? Would I be able to make any difference at all in the little time we had?

After a long six hour journey from Islamabad to Kashmir we finally reached our base – Chak, Rawalakot. We were introduced to the READ Foundation (RF) team who would be accompanying us throughout our stay and were briefed on what we would be doing during our time in Kashmir.  That evening we also had an experience that would be a daily feature in our stay- the effects of load shedding and power failure. Shanela [another volunteer from MADE in Europe] was the star of the night with her great insight: ‘It’s amazing how everyone goes to sleep at the same time’ referring to the sudden black out… !

Each day we would visit schools built to accommodate the growing number of students in the small villages. Even in the most remote areas, the RF logo could be found marking out another area dedicated to educating children who otherwise would not have had this access.

Each school that we visited, I was left in awe by the children, young and old. The bright eyed pre-school kids, with their innocent faces and wide smiles, singing songs to us or reciting Urdu poetry that melted hearts, would turn away shyly when asked questions or given sweets. The noticeably universal cheeky smiles that are apparent on all the young boys in primary school, was visible here…healthy…big smiles with such a passion for learning, that at one point when one of the teachers was saying her goodbyes to us, one of the students called out in Urdu ‘Miss, come on…we’re waiting for you!’.  I don’t think we would ever witness that in a school in the UK? When talking to the children, both boys and girls, about their ambitions, around 45% of the students we met were aiming to become doctors, 40% teachers, 10% pilots, a few engineers and one chauffeur!

What was even more pleasantly surprising was the focus and promotion of female education. RF is one of the first organisations in Kashmir to promote secular and Islamic education for girls and have enabled thousands of girls to attend school by educating the local communities about its importance. Female education has always been seen as a sensitive issue in conservative states like Kashmir….but in Azad Kashmir, women are the most highly educated women, with Bachelors, Masters degrees and PhDs. The female students we met had ambitions of becoming highly qualified teachers or doctors. Compare this to teenage girls in the UK, who when asked normally reply that they were unsure or ‘not bothered’, others want to be teachers, others beauticians and child minders and the occasional doctor or dentist. The difference was staggering and yet the limited resources available to the girls in Kashmir and the difficulties in accessing higher education did not diminish the flame they carried for getting out there and achieving their dreams.

But there is still a lot to be done in terms of maintaining these schools, creating better paid jobs for the teachers and reaching out to those who need it most. I met some of the most amazing people in my life – Sr Shazia, a highly qualified English teacher in Barmang RF School, was an inspiration. As students, we usually forget that teachers have lives too...that they have their own personal troubles which they put aside daily to cater for the needs of children under their care. Sr Shazia was just one example of many teachers in her circumstances. Kids such as Shanza from Chotagala RF School or the insatiable Aqsa from Chambar Nar RF School or the cheeky Sameer from Kherick College, Rawalakot – they have all left their individual imprints in my heart and inshaAllah, if God Almighty wills, I will get to meet them again soon.

As I packed on the final night in Rawalakot, my heart heavy with the realisation that I would be leaving what is locally described as a ‘piece of heaven on earth’, memories flooded back. The people – so humble and hospitable, with a spark [that is completely absent from the hustle and bustle of London life] that keeps them going on and reaching for those dreams; old women who fetch water from nearby wells, balancing large water pots on their heads with such ease and grace; the children we met – those from RF schools, so passionate and so lively, buzzing with questions and stories; and those who were not in any form of education, who were working to make ends meet, who had visible vacant expressions in their eyes when asked about their futures. These are the children the RF team are trying to reach out to and this is what I, with the ethos that Islam has given me and the training and support that MADE in Europe has provided, will endeavour to continue to campaign and fundraise for. As the RF motto goes, Educate a Child to Read – Build the Foundation of a Nation.

By Samira Quraishy