Voices from the Field

Through our newsletter, we aim to bring you a step closer to the ground - so that you may see some of what our staff in Pakistan see, and hear what they hear. In each issue, we will bring you stories, interviews, and eyewitness reports from the field. We hope these will show that we are getting there - we’re making change happen.

"I love eating egg and toast!"

Noreen Naz is 12 years old. She is a Class 7 (Year 8) student at the TCF Saadat Bari Campus in Shah Faisal, a small, densely populated town in eastern Karachi. Noreen lives with her parents and is one of five children. Her younger sister also goes to the TCF school. We asked Noreen about a typical day. “I wake up for Fajr prayers and after breakfast, I get ready to go to school. Sometimes, my mum gives me two or three rupees (about 2 pence) to buy a snack at break time, but other times I get nothing at all.  When I come home from school, I eat whatever my mum has made to eat and thank Allah for His blessings. I love eating egg and toast!  But we don’t have much money and so sometimes we only eat twice a day.  My father has a vegetable cart and it’s very difficult to live on his earnings.”

Noreen often passed by the smart private schools dotted around the streets of Karachi, and wondered whether she would ever have the opportunity for a similar education: “Whenever I used to see a grand looking school with a big building, I used to imagine that the school fees would be very high. Our TCF School is just as beautiful as all of those schools but we only have to pay a small fee. If you’re very poor, you don’t even have to pay that.”

“My school is really clean, and the teachers are dedicated and attentive. We do lots of different activities in our lessons which make learning really fun! And we never lack for anything. There is a big library with lots of good books and we make use of them all.”

Noreen tries her best at school because she wants to make a better life for herself and her family.

“I try and do all my school work on time. I want to study with all my heart and I want to make something of myself so that I can look after my parents and make them proud of their family name.  My older brothers could not study because of domestic problems and poverty, but they both trained and now work as electricians.

My dream is to one day help poor children and to educate them.  I pray to Allah that He makes my wish come true.”

Newsletter

'Dreams of My Father'

'I love eating egg and toast!'

Schools in Partnership

Volunteering opportunities at TCF

Educating for a Brighter Tomorrow in East London

Playing their Part

FTCF Website