Shell Earthquake Schools

After the earthquake, the inhabitants of Kalaban faced a devastating setback as their village’s infrastructure was partially destroyed, some of their buildings and schools ruined, and the citizens now had to pick themselves from the harrowing aftermath and begin their lives anew.

Positive Agents of change enrolled with THE CITIZEN FOUNDATION (TCF) in Shell Campuses

Kalaban Schools

Following the devastating 2005 earthquake in Northern Areas, Shell Pakistan joined hands with The Citizens Foundation (TCF) to establish three Shell Campuses in the earthquake-affected region of Battagram. The schools have recently been completed, and currently enroll 109 students from the community, of which almost forty percent are girls.

These young children were greatly affected by the earthquake – yet remain positive about the opportunities the news schools provide. TCF met with four children enrolled in Shell Campus, among them are 3 aspiring teachers and a future police officer!

Haleema is the eldest of 2 daughters in a family of seven. She is nine years old and is attending class I. Haleema has learnt the value of hard work from her father, who works tirelessly in Saudi Arabia to support the family. She intends to pursue
a career in teaching and be a great role model to her younger sister who is also enrolled in Shell Campus in Kindergarten.

Shema is a gifted eight years old who is also enrolled in Grade I. Her family was severely shaken by the 2005 Earthquake, but she was lucky to have all 5 members of her family survive through it. Shema is the first member of her family to go to a TCF school and her younger siblings hope to follow in her footsteps. She is particularly interested in learning English and hopes to one day become a teacher like her friend Haleema.

Nasreen is 11 years old and currently enrolled in Shell Campus I, which is in the village of Bela Daulat Khan. The earthquake rendered her and her 7 siblings homeless and for 3 years her education suffered. With the new Shell Campus, the lives of her family turned around as her father, who was previously unemployed, secured a job as a security guard at the school. With his new job he was able to enroll Nasreen and her younger sister in school. Nasreen considers the TCF school a home away from home, and hopes to become a teacher at the school one day.

Shoaib is another 1st grader with great ambitions! In a group of future teachers, Shoaib stands out as he wants to achieve two things in his lifetime: becoming a police officer, and wining Pakistan the 20-20 Cricket world cup again.

One of five brothers and just 1 sister, Shoaib’s fondest memories are of the time he used to spend helping his father out in the fields, while playing with his brothers. The beauty of this land is still unmatched but the scars of the earthquake are a reminder of the great horror that Shoaib experienced when he was just 4 years old. Shoaib’s father has since returned to farming, and slowly Shoaib has been able to adjust to his new life as a young student in the Shell Campus.

Shell Pakistan Limited was the only corporation to venture into this rugged terrain, and to initiate plans to set up a new, earthquake resistant primary school building for 300 schoolchildren. These changes have taken a great deal of effort and perseverance on the part of Shell Pakistan Limited, due to the village’s inaccessibility, lack of infrastructure, and sheer level of destruction impacted by the earthquake. Due to the untiring efforts of Shell Pakistan’s team, as well as the cooperation it received from the local authorities and ERRA, this project has now neared completion. The primary school has been fully functional and is being utilized for classes since August 2007. Click on the link below to view a communicational documentary about Shell Pakistan’s relief efforts in the village of Kalaban. This video depicts a re-creation of the life of a local school child who was effected by the calamity, and an expression of how these changes might have given her new hope for the village’s future. It is a narrative of how an earthquake victim’s life would have changed, and how her village people are now getting a chance to pick up their lives from the earthquake’s aftermath. Shell Pakistan now plans to construct three more schools in Batal in partnership with The Citizen’s Foundation.