As Pakistan’s economic crisis escalates, a leading educational foundation urges not to forget the children of Pakistan.

Pakistan has the world's second-highest number of out-of-school children with an estimated 22.8 million aged 5-16 not attending school.

CARE Foundation aims to enrol one million children in schools by 2025.

Established 32 years ago, to date CARE has a network of 888 schools. CARE currently has 300,000 children enrolled in its schools.

Ms. Seema Aziz, founder of CARE Foundation, said: “Ramadan is a critical time to not forget about our children. Education is the one thing that can re-build stability. Done at scale, it can be nation building. This is why we want to enrol one million children in schools by 2025. Tackling Pakistan’s crisis in education is a vital step to break the cycle of poverty.”

CARE’s unique public-private partnership with the Pakistan Government has seen it successfully adopt the running of government schools in the country.

CARE Foundation is calling on the Muslim communities across the globe to donate their Zakat to tackle the education crisis in Pakistan.

Ms. Seema added: “Illiteracy worsens cycles of poverty, ill-health and deprivation, weakening communities and increasing marginalization. A shocking 44% of young Pakistanis are out of school. As a country, we face many struggles but those who suffer most are always children born into poverty and disadvantage. Education at scale can affect real, lasting change.”

In addition to providing quality education in schools, CARE Foundation awards over 1000 college and higher education scholarships annually. CARE students pursue education at the best colleges and universities in Pakistan such as NUST,,GIKI, GCU, UET, FCC and King Edward Medical College, as well as study in universities across the world. Many CARE alumni are now engineers, doctors, nurses, teachers, entrepreneurs and other professionals who go on to create societal change.

Fatima Mehmood went to a CARE adopted school and was awarded a CARE scholarship. She is now studying for a PhD in engineering from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia.

Fatima said: “Despite the high cost of tuition, I was able to secure a scholarship from the CARE Foundation, which enabled me to continue my education and complete my pre-engineering studies at Punjab College of Science, Lahore. I got excellent results in my pre-engineering exams and then received another scholarship from the CARE Foundation to pursue a degree in B.Sc. Civil Engineering at the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore.”

She further added:

“As an individual who has overcome significant socio-economic obstacles, I take great pride in serving as a role model for young women. Through my personal experience, I am able to attest to the profound impact that CARE Foundation can have on individuals by providing access to education and resources. Without the CARE Foundation, I would not have been able to achieve my academic and professional goals and my journey would have been vastly different and less successful.”

To support CARE Foundation’s mission to get one million children into school by 2025, go to: https://carepakistan.org/

Case Study

(For photos of Nabeel go to https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/tjq77t4r5ml9255s6xic5/h?dl=0&rlkey=zr43kxtdjt2c5es60mdggt13z)

Nabeel Arshad, 28, is head of HSE Department (Health Safety & Environmental department at a chicken processing plant in Pakistan.

I grew up in a very rural, old-fashioned family. My mother is a housewife, and my father grows crops

and looks after the fields. There was no education.

In my village, Chatti Nali. PO Bhikhi, there was no school for the older children after primary school. Then the CARE Foundation came and changed that. Before then, many families had transportation issues, so they couldn’t send their children to far away schools – especially their girls. So, when CARE came to the village, all those issues and barriers went, and the parents could send their girls to school.

I had supportive parents who encouraged me to get education. They were very happy when I did

matriculation. They said to me whatever I want to do, I can. I was the first in my family to complete

school. Later, I did a bachelor’s in arts and after that, I completed various health and safety certifications. I got a job as an officer at a chicken processing plant, where I am now head of the health and safety department. I’ve been here almost seven years. I will try my best to gain more qualifications to grow further in this field.

I have two younger brothers and a sister, and they also studied in the CARE school. My younger brother is now becoming a lawyer - he did a master’s degree in political science, and my youngest brother studied mechanical engineering. My sister is still studying. Our parents are very proud of us!

I am very happy to be part of the CARE alumni network to tell my story. I have learned so much because of CARE that I feel motivated to give back. I visit my school every month or so to see if there are any issues, which we can discuss and help solve, to help other students.

If our village did not have a CARE school, my siblings and I would have ended up working in the fields, growing crops with my parents. Life would be very different from how it is now.

Notes to Editors

For media enquiries contact clair@causeuk.com 0753 194 8014

All statistics are credited to UNICEF.

For photos go to https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/tjq77t4r5ml9255s6xic5/h?dl=0&rlkey=zr43kxtdjt2c5es60mdggt13z

CARE Foundation is successfully running 888 schools and educating over 300,000 students nationwide. CARE Foundation has more than 130,000 successful graduates, among whom there are many established doctors, engineers and entrepreneurs.