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About Monika Girls High School
Since 1927, there have been boys' schools in the Bagrot Valley in northern Pakistan. The girls, however, remained without schooling. It was not until 1992 that a girls' school was founded on the private initiative of Monika Schneid, who had lived and researched in the Bagrot Valley for two years. For a long time, girls were disadvantaged there. Excluded from attending school, women had no opportunity to learn to read and write. Their traditional role was limited to the household, gardening and field work, herding livestock and raising children.
Mrs. Schneid hired a first teacher who taught 20 girls in a private house. Because the number of pupils grew very quickly and more teachers had to be hired, Forum Kinder in Not e. V. took over the financing of the personnel costs.
Two girls from Monika Girls High School
Chance for an Independent Life without Poverty
Attending school gives the young women the opportunity to take up a profession and participate more confidently in social life. After completing their school education, they become involved in the community, e.g. in the field of health care and as teachers. Some contribute significantly to a regular family income through their gainful employment. Their age at marriage has increased, which has already led to a lower birth rate and healthier mothers and children in this group. The additional knowledge is now evident in families where educated girls live and work. Step by step, a change in hygiene, nutrition and infant care can be observed, combined with greater independence for the young women.
The Monika Girls High School has meanwhile grown to almost 400 pupils per year and is financed mainly by donations (>> donate online here immediately). The monthly budget for 14 teachers is 900,00 €. The students do not have to pay school fees. This is important because it gives everyone the chance to attend the school. The parents contribute by buying school clothes, pencils, school bags and books, and in some cases by giving up their daughters' help in the household or in agriculture to enable them to attend school. The school and the costs incurred for teachers, urgently needed equipment and school materials are financed through donations.
Sensitising people in Bagrote to the education of girls with disabilities
So far, no girls with disabilities attend Monika Girls High School. Many parents keep their disabled children hidden and do not trust them to attend school. A long-term goal of the project is therefore to enable girls with disabilities to attend Monika Girls High.