Expatriate family helps set up fourth school in Karachi for children of underprivileged families

An overseas Pakistani family whose members have been residing in many countries and associated with various disciplines of academia and IT has been funding the education of over 1,000 children from deprived communities in Karachi.

Syed Tariq Masood campus of the non-profit Green Crescent Trust (GCT) opened in the Korangi area of Karachi is the fourth charitable school launched in the city with financial support provided by the philanthropist Masood family to combat illiteracy in Sindh.

The new school campus having a ground-plus-one solar-powered building has been built on a 148-square-yard plot and has initially enrolled over 150 students from disadvantaged families in the area.

Asra Masood built the school in memory of her late father Syed Tariq Masood. She especially came from the United Arab Emirates to attend the school’s inauguration. Her mother, two siblings and all granddaughters and grandsons of the late Tariq Masood also attended the ceremony.

The first charitable school founded by the Masood family in Karachi was constructed in the Wangi Goth area in Manghopir around 10 years back. Its construction was funded by the late Nikhaat Masood whose two children, Hiba Masood and Anas Masood, later financed the construction of a charitable school in the city named after their deceased mother.

In her speech, Asra reaffirmed the commitment of her family to fully support the drive to enrol out-of-school children in the province. She said the noble cause of Pakistan’s progress and development would remain unfulfilled till the issue of illiteracy persisted in the country.

She said that efforts were under way to involve every overseas member of the extended Masood family, residing in many countries, in the noble drive to provide quality schooling to children from underprivileged areas in the province.

She praised the firm determination shown by the GCT’s leadership and trustees particularly for carrying out the drive to enrol out-of-school children in Sindh for the past 30 years. Hiba Masood and Anas Masood said on the occasion that the family would support the launch of at least three more charitable schools in partnership with the GCT in the next two years.

Three granddaughters of the late Tariq Masood also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the importance of education for children from underprivileged areas for socioeconomic uplift of their families.

Prof Dr Shaista Tabassum, dean of the University of Karachi’s (KU) Faculties of Arts, Sciences, and Law, was the chief guest at the ceremony. She praised the concerned philanthropists and donors among the expatriate Pakistani community who had been generously supporting the drive to enrol out-of-school children in Pakistan.

Prof Shaista, who also recently served as the KU’s acting vice-chancellor, said that providing quality schooling facilities to children from destitute families would ensure that they in later years would acquire accredited higher education in various disciplines from renowned public and private universities.

GCT CEO Zahid Saeed informed the audience that with the inauguration of the Syed Tariq Masood campus, his non-profit had moved ahead with its mission to enrol a total of over 100,000 out-of-school children in Sindh by the end of next year.

He said the GCT in the past 30 years had established a network of 168 charitable schools in underprivileged areas of Sindh having a total enrolment of over 31,199 students from destitute families.

He expressed gratitude to committed philanthropists and donors, including the Masood family, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the bona fide charities in Sindh, which had been tirelessly working to get out-of-school children enrolled in schools. A large number of parents of the students enrolled in the school, area notables and GCT’s donors and supporters attended the ceremony.