Al Firdous School in Barakahu /Islamabad were supported by IFWA Bazaar 2020. Schoolvisit was done by IFWA in Jan 2020; due to Covid lockdown fundraising could only be done end of 2020 and IFWA paid school material in February 2021.

• NGO, designs and implements community driven projects for socio economic development

• Provide quality education and skills to under privileged children

• 454 kids from Play Group to grade 10

• Education, books, uniform, meals etc are provided free of cost

• Creates awareness and opportunity for most families around Barakhau to send their children to school

• Vocational center provides skills to girls (sewing, cooking, dress design…) and boys (plumbing, phone repairing, IT)

• Needs funds to keep initiative going (building mantainance, furniture, uniforms, books)

• Permanently suppported by German Embassy

Care for Special Person Foundation was founded in 1992 by a group of parents of children with special need and mentally challenged. The institute offers physiotherapy, speech therapy, fine art skills and other vocational training such as computer skills to nurture their talents and help them blend into the society as well as obtain an employment. IFWA contributed to the purchase of physiotherapy equipment, furniture, heater, uniforms, and a scale.

• Founded in 2018, connected to the church

• 80-100 students, pre-school to grade 1 (prepared for governmental schools)

• For the school building parents were asked to help and therefor got a job and a salary

• Construction work still ongoing to create space for more students (Streets are still full of children who are not in school) – aim to teach as many children as possible

• NL charity organization gave 5000 Euro (via Mergreet) and will continue their support – but never give more than 5000 Eura a year.

• Robert Bhatti´s wife (Philippina) is the principal and a teacher

Good Shepard School has given a list of items needed.

For Ramadan 2025, IFWA financed packages of lentils, basan and kinoos for all the families of the Haraf Foundation School.

IFWA's members filled 200 paper bags with 10 kinoos each to distribute to each kid.

Khatoon-e-Fatima High School Islamabad is an institution run by the Diocesan Board of Education and over the years has been providing an education and serving the Christian community living in slums of Islamabad. Currently there are approximately 600 students studying in the school with a minimum fee that includes transportation and lunch. Sister Katherine mentioned that the school is required to meet the standards of Federal Board of Education and therefore requested IFWA to give some assistance in the form of metal detectors, tables and chairs, benches for the playground among others.

• Founded in 1986 by Master Ayub (retired fire fighter, does outdoor tutoring for 40 years now)

• 250 students of all ages

• Started with 1 boy, who brought his friend, after a week Mr Ayub had 50 students, first teached in Markaz F6 then moved around, finally ended up in Hill Road park, many troubles in the beginning

• Located next to the Christian colony now Mr. Ayub as a Muslim teaches Christian kids

• To keep children away from the streets selling flowers, cleaning or begging

• 2012 the school got recognition and awards from ministry of education

• Provides education free of costs for underprivileged children

• Alumni get jobs as teachers, annual summer volunteering program

• Funded and awarded by many international missions (GB, S…)

• People from the neighbourhood and int. missions provide food and time

• Mr Ayub now 67 years old tries to build a two-room school to teach IT to the students.

IFWA visited different Pehli Kiran Schools in Islamabad and they were supported by IFWA Bazaar 2019

• Founded by Ms Qureshi, she lives in US, where most of the funds come from

• More than 20 year old institution

• 8 community based schools for vulnerable communities, urban migrants (mostly in Afghan refugee camps at the edges of Islamabad)

• 60 staff members (mostly trained women from the camps who otherwise would be jobless)

• 42% girls (focus on getting girls into schools)

• 2000 students primary school to out-of-school

• Focus on childhood and education (literacy plus music, arts and crafts, sports etc)

Miss Jannat-ul-Firdous initiated the philanthropist project of Al-Firdous School in Barakahu during the year 2012. She commenced the project with a small sewing center for women in the vicinity of Saiban Hill. Later, she realized that children around the area were not provided with any educational facility so she transformed the sewing centre into a school in 2012. The school runs on family-based donations received from the relatives of Miss Jannat and no tuition fee is charged by from the students.

In December 2021, IFWA donated money toward the of purchase of 100 wheelchairs for needed women and children in Pakistan in cooperation with the Dawood Global Foundation through their LadiesFund initiative. The wheelchairs were gifted at a ceremony at the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in the presence of he first lady of Pakistan Mrs Alvi on 26 January 2022.

The monitoring report states: based on the doctors‘ recommendation, 86 wheelchairs were given to Spinal injury and Paralysis patients to be used in their homes. 14 wheelchairs have been allocated to Operation theatre, OPD and wards at NIDM and are in ready use. “I am very happy that the wheelchairs donated by IFWA will improve the quality of life of disabled women and give them more independence.” (Irena Smetankova, IFWA President)

IFWA visited the Gosha e Mashal centre in October 2019 to provide 8 sewing machines. They were donated as gifts to women who had finished their training in the Vocational Center – to help them to become independent entrepreneurs and earn money with their newly learned skills.

• Mission: To bring meaningful change in the lives of girls and women in the community – through education, employability and entrepreneur skills

• The centre named “Gosha-e-Mashal” became operational in 1996-’97. (a complex, on 2600 sq. yds)

• It is located 12 km from Islamabad in Margalla Town and surrounded by about 9 villages and “kachi abadies” in dire need of help.

• Mashal Association with the help of donations by C.I.D.A, J.I.C.A and UN Women’s Guild (based in Rome, Italy) and its own fund raising resources has been able to build this centre

• Masal Association at their Gosha e Mashal Centre houses a school for girls up to grade 10, a fully equipped medical unit, a vocational training centre and a library

• School: 170 girls, vocational training 25-30 young women, medical centre: 300 patients per week

• How can you help: sponsor a student´s education, help build a classroom, donate cash, buy tables/tickets at our fundraiser, donate medicines

• Founded officially April 2018

• For Christian orphan girls

• Hosting 20 girls from 4-15 years (see report attached) – reaching out to become 30

• Provide basic needs like food, beds, cloths, education

• When girls are brought to them they are asked to bring death certificates of both parents (parents try to cheat and send their girls

• The orphan girls visit their families once or twice a year but are happy to return

• Downstairs they run a Bethren Church (US protestants, roots from Germany), upstairs they run a school with 44 children: 20 girls from House of Mercy and 24 children from outside; House of Mercy is located on the top floor

In June 2022 IFWA committee members visited the Leprosy Hospital in Rawalpindi and based on the request of Dr Chris Schmotzer, its Medical Director, purchased supplies of fabric for bed sheets, draw sheets, uniforms of staff and other health material.

In October 2022 IFWA puchased winter blankets for 16 young female Afghan musicians who fled their country and became stranded in Islamabad. They form a group who sings with international rock superstars to attrack attention to the condition of childrens in war zones. Information about the girls and their activities can be found on their group's website.

The Pink Ribbon Charity Hospital was the main donee of the 2016 IFWA bazaar.

• IFWA is very pleased to had the chance to support Pink  Ribbon in their noble cause in building a charity hospital for breast  cancer patients.

• Pink Ribbon CEO Omer Aftab said at the  event that Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer in all of  Asia. The donation will help the organisation  build the first breast cancer hospital in Pakistan.

IFWA visited the school twice in 2019, CFSP were supported by IFWA Bazaar 2019 with furniture (tables and chairs) TV screen and carpenter work.

• Set up by parents of special needs children and a group of professionals in that field in 1992

• Provides a house as “centre” for education and physical training, clinical assessment, counselling for parents (very constricted class rooms, cramped confines, no outdoor area)

• Offers speech therapy, physio-therapy. Fine arts skills, computer training, khadi work for students

• Pick-up and drop off by drivers/vans

• Asked for laptops, necessary chairs and desks, TV screen, fuel for vans and salary for teachers (IFWA would only pay for items directly to the vendors, not for fuel or salary)

• Rawalpindi EIC is a girl´s hostel

• Founded in 2019, well established

• Accommodates up to 30 Christian girls, age between 7-17 years, free of costs for families

• Girls come from difficult backgrounds (very poor, handicapped parent, house violation, drug addiction, - the girls would have no chance for education in their families, some are orphans…) – every background is checked carefully to avoid cheating and beware saftyness

• Girls up to grade 10 go to a catholic school outside the hostel (taken there by van)

• In the afternoon tuition teachers help the children in hostel to do their homework and learn.

• Also extracurricular activities are offered (trips and outings)

• Sonja is leading the hostel, she is German, she came to Pakistan 10 years ago and lives with two other German Ladies, Dr. Chris (in Pakistan for 35 years) and Sr Annette (in Pakistan for 23 years) on the grounds of the Rawalpindi Leprosy Hospital.

• The funding of the project comes through a scholarship program. Most girls have sponsors, mainly based in Germany, who cover their monthly educational expenses. All other expenses need to be covered by donations.

• Head office of EIC is in Germany Local office situated on the grounds of the Rawalpindi Leprosy Hospital. ( Leprosity Hospital, 130 beds, focus on TB and eye problems since leprosity nowadays is seldom in Pakistan, supports the hostel)

• External audit is being held every year

HARAF Foundation is a Charity Organization that tirelessly works to bring a quality change  in the lives of underprivileged children who are residing in rural area of Pin Sangrial in periphery of Islamabad. Founded by Farah Ayub Tarin, a former civil servant, the foundation has been providing education with a little fee or free of charge for those who are not able to afford it with the help a group of teachers, who are all committed volunteers. IFWA contributed to the purchase of UPS, tables, benches, chairs and plastic roof so that the children could play outside during recess.

After the devastating floods of August 2023 IFWA launched a charity drive to support women and babies in flooded areas. In cooperation with IBFAN Pakistan IFWA purchased a complete equipment for a mobile Nurturing Care Centre which was used to promote breastfeeding and healthy eating habits in children and women. Further to that, we supported an intensive training of 10 Lady Health Workers by IBFAN Pakistan, that concentrated on breastfeeding and educating women about reproductive health.

Marshal school was the main donee of the 2018 IFWA bazaar.

• Founded in 2017 to provide holistic education to the street children of the Nurpur Shaha Islamabad

• self-funded school (i.e. registered trust), by Ms Zeba Husain (worked for UNAID in US and Pakistan)

• 970 children in classes ranging from Play Group to class 10 (448 boys and 522 girls) who have never been to school before

• The children face hardships at home, as well as at work, when selling items such as flowers, shopping bags and sweets, and washing cars on the streets of Bari Imam. They have little choice, but to survive on their own in the company of gangs on the street. They are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation of all forms

• through assistance of Mashal School, children are enabled to to overcome their inhibitions and eventually develop a sense of trust and dignity

• first rule worked on as teachers is that physical abuse, in any sense, is non-acceptable, as the children come from a background of mistreatment and lack of emotional and directional support.

• children are admitted according to their levels of basic understanding and learning skills

• National Book Foundation curriculum set by the Board of Education in Pakistan is followed

• educating on health and hygiene and particularly protection against abuse is one of the core aims

• present we have 50 teachers from the same community who have been trained by the Teacher Trainer, keeping in mind the background of these children.

• The school also has afternoon sewing classes for the community women, mother’s of students and young girls.

See this 2019 press coverage and 2020 press coverage for IFWA's involvement with PCLAPA.

• Approximately 1 in 500 children in Pakistan are born with a defect of  the lip and palate (the roof of the mouth). This is called a cleft lip  and palate abnormality, as seen in the pictures. Babies and children are  unable to feed or speak properly. They have a lot of infections in the  mouth and ears, often leading to hearing difficulties. Schooling is  often impossible and such children are made outcasts, with very little  prospects of marriage.

• In 1995 the Pakistan Cleft Lip and Palate Association was formed and  since then with the help of plastic surgeons, travelling form places  such as the UK,  over 1500 children have been operated.