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Assalamu alaykum and
Ramadan Kareem!
Dear Friends,
I’ve been blessed to spend a bit of time at
Sitara this year and wanted to update all
of our friends and supporters. I arrived in
the country in March and have spent
almost four months here. My husband
now lives in the north, so we commute to
Sitara for visits about once a month.
While I’m there, I do a teachers’ training
workshop for STI, Sitara Teachers’
Institute. Alhamdulilah, the Institute is
functioning very well, thanks to the
efforts of our principal, Rizwana Sami,
and vice principal, Asma Sayyam. I
recently attended a guest lecture at Sitara
on the topic of Technology in the
Classroom. The speaker demonstrated
some very good online links to
complement classroom science lessons.
The New Campus
I was thrilled to see the new campus.
Pictures are one thing, but experiencing
the difference a real campus makes is
another. The students and teachers are
very happy with the classrooms and the
playground…especially the playground!
But we are already filled capacity in the
prep, play group and first class. We have a
waiting list! The good news is we are
building four new classrooms on the
upper level of the building. Class three
and four can shift upstairs and we can
enroll more little ones. We will also
designate some space for our girls’ high
school, coming in 2017, Inshallah!
I know that some of you would like to
donate during the holy month of
Ramadan, so here’s your opportunity. It
will cost between $8,000 to $10,000 to
build the new rooms We want to start
building ASAP so that new students can
be enrolled in the fall. Please contribute
whatever you can to this effort.
Orphan Sponsorship
If you wish to give on a more personal
level, here’s another opportunity. Sitara
currently has twelve orphans enrolled in
various classes. By Islamic standards, a
child is considered an orphan if his father
has died, even if his/her mother is still
alive. All orphans attend Sitara free of
cost to their families. If you would like to
sponsor one or more of these children,
please do. A full year’s education at Sitara
cost about $350 per child (USD: please
adjust rates for other currencies.)That is a
suggested donation amount so please feel
free to contribute what you wish. Online
donation info. is at the end of this
newsletter.
Sadaf Sayyam, our school receptionist has
prepared this description of our orphans
together with their pictures.
Kanwal , Kinza and Moosa Zafar came
from Kashmir .Their mother is working at
a shopping mall after her husband’s
death. They recently joined Sitara
in
April, 2016. Kanwal is in 6th class, Kinza
is in 5th and Moosa is in 2nd.
Syed Fahad and Syed Farhan are twins
who were just one year old when their
father died. Their mother is also a doing
job for her kids’ survival. They got
admission in Sitara in April 2016.
Muqaddas Bibi and Talha Hussain have
been studying in Sitara since 2013. Their
elder brother is giving them financial
support. She is in the 7th class and he is in
the 5th.
Shumaila and Awais Janisar are
studying in Sitara since 2012. Their elder
brothers are giving them financial
support. Shumaila is in the 5th class and
Awais is in 2nd.
Samreen Faiz got admission in Sitara in
April 2016. Her mother is working as a
house maid for her daughter because her
in-laws are not willing to give financial
support to Samreen . She is in 1st class.
Naveed got admission in Sitara in April
2016. Before getting admission he was
selling coconuts. Now his uncle is
supporting them financially. He is in prep
class.
Hassan and Sania Hameed are studying
in Sitara since 2013. Their mother is also
working. Sania is first class and Hassan is
in prep.
Well Building Project
Masha’Allah, though we are in stressful
times, there are individuals in every
corner of the globe who are trying to
make a difference. I was recently
introduced to Sr. Janet Kozak. She and
her husband Syed, have started a well-
building project in Baluchistan, one of the
driest areas of Pakistan where access to
clean water is a deadly serious issue. I
was impressed by their organized effort
and agreed to feature their project in our
Ramadan update to give you the
opportunity of doing even more good in
this blessed month. For a full description
of the project and the organizers, please
go to https://goo.gl/X4osWY. If you
would like to help supply water to needy
families in Baluchistan, please contact
Janet Kozak with “Wells Baluchistan” in
the subject line. [email protected].
Payment can be made via Western Union
or Bank transfer. Sr. Janet will provide the
necessary info. to interested donors.
I’m getting ready to return to the U.S. for
Eid and hope to see some of you there
over the summer. Look for our annual
Launchgood fund-raiser coming in the
fall. If you wish to donate online during
Ramadan, or at any time, please send me
an email [email protected] and I’ll
send you our bank information. I’d also
appreciate feedback on this newsletter
and please like our FB page, which is
maintained by our staff and follow us on
Twitter.
It’s been another great year at Sitara. Our
fifth graders got some of the highest
scores in the district on their Ministry
exams! Some of our recent activities were
Sports Day and Flower Day. The older girls
enjoyed the National Book Fair in
Islamabad. In addition to our school
library we now have classroom libraries
on the upper level. The students were
delighted to receive a complete set of
Jennah Jewels, autographed by one of the
authors. If you have not seen these books,
then look for them on amazon.com and at
Daybreak Press. They are great reading
material for your young daughters or
granddaughters.
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Sitara Institute is a registered non-profit in
the state of Michigan, U.S.A. Your donations
are tax exempt. You can donate online by
using Chase Quick Pay. The name of the
account is “Sitara Institute” Please contact
[email protected] for more detailed bank
information for money transfers. You can also
send us a check at Sitara Institute, P.O. Box
871023 CANTON, MI 48187