ZAREEF KHAN FOUNDATION A Profile
1. Introduction:
ZAREEF KHAN FOUNDATION
(ZKF) was co-founded by Dr.
Muhammad Zareef Khan (1902-
1995) who was born in a village
Ali Shah 20 km north-east of
Peshawar. A self made man who
finished his primary education in
village Taru Jabba and completed
his high school and college
education in Peshawar. He studied
medicine in King Edwards
Medical College, Lahore from
1923-28. He also qualified in
Malariology and Public Health
from the Malaria Survey of India
Institute, Karnal and University of
Calcutta, India in 1933 & 1934
respectively. He served the
humanity from 1928 to 1958 in
the government service and from 1958 to 1982 in his private clinic /surgery
in part of the building which was his home built in 1940 and which now also
houses ZKF Sub-Office at 1-Nishtarabad, Peshawar.
ZKF was registered with the government in 1988 under the Societies Act of
1860 as a non-profit NGO aiming to work in such multi-sectoral projects
which have direct socio-economic impact on the society. It shares its Head
Office in Islamabad with Taleem Foundation which is working in education
sector in Balochistan since 1990.
2. Vision:
ZKF visualizes to help create a society based on justice, rule of law and
concept of modern development in all sectors respecting local culture and
promoting peace within the communities in the country and globally.
3. Mission Statement:
The mission of ZKF is to participate & contribute towards the sustainable
development of the civil society by promoting good quality education
inclusive of sports to build a strong human foundation, environment
conservation, preventive health, hygiene and vocational training. The
mission also includes promotion of sports as a profession, peace in the
society, generation of livelihoods, alternate energy and emergency relief
besides activism on social, developmental & environmental issues.
4. Thematic Areas:
The foundation has worked or intends to work in the following thematic areas:
Education
Teacher Training
Values of liberal education
Skill Development & Capacity Building
Excellence in Sports
Heritage & Culture
Ecotourism
Health & Hygiene
Emergency Relief
Environment & Biodiversity
Peace & Conflict Resolution
5. Objectives:
5.1 Promote & provide good quality education up to Middle & Technical up to
Secondary level to the children / youth of society and prepare them for a
productive and meaningful higher education within the country and abroad.
5.2 Impart professional training to the teachers of private & semi-government
schools of KP and equip them with latest teaching methodologies.
5.3 Impart skills to the students in the vocational / skill development centre to be
located in the new ZKF Technical Education & Sports Complex with a
view to make them self-reliant & productive members of the society.
5.4 Promote & develop spiritual, moral, ethical and cultural values of students
and the community, aimed at moderation, tolerance, socio-cultural harmony
in general thus promoting universal understanding, peace and cohesion.
5.5 Encourage and promote healthy sports activities among students and youth to
prepare them for regional and national level championships.
5.6 Adopt and promote alternative green technologies as well as environmental
conservation through awareness raising, advocacy, activism, partnership &
project implementation.
5.7 Promote conservation of cultural heritage and values through identification,
advocacy, lobbying, activism and special projects at school.
5.8 Create awareness about the importance of “Preventive / Public Health” and
organise “First Aid” training workshops for senior students and community
members at large.
5.9 Respond to emergencies and natural disasters and provide necessary
assistance.
5.10 Encourage and promote livelihood generating eco-tourism with community
participation, and partnership with relevant government organisations if
required.
5.11 Introduce basic farming knowledge to students and offer modern horticulture
and apiculture techniques to the farmers.
5.12 Promote environment friendly and affordable construction techniques.
6. Partners:
The ZKF has worked in the past /working with the following partners:
Local Communities
Govt. of NWFP / KP
UNDP-GEF (SGP), Pakistan
UNESCO, Pakistan
Australian High Commission, Islamabad.
AusAid (Australia)
Development in Learning (USA)
Australian Volunteers International (AVI), Melbourne.
Cabra Dominican Convent, Adelaide, Australia
UNHCR, Peshawar
Islamic Relief, UK
Private, Missionary& Semi-Govt Schools in KP
Environmental Activists & Media in Pakistan
Individual Philanthropists
The list of partners will expand with time.
7. Patrons:
The distinguished Patrons of the ZKF are:
Mr. Michael Day Thompson (UK)
Ms. Angelika Weller (Canada / Italy / Germany)
Ms. Conny Lenneberg (Melbourne)
Mr. Lawrence Kennedy (S.Australia)
Mrs. Margaret Edwards (UK- Educationist)
Col (R) I.D. Hasan (Educationist)
Dr. Isa Daudpota- Ph.D (Physics)
Mrs. Shama Saeed (Educationist)
8. ZKF Board Members:
The distinguished Members of the ZKF Board are:
Col®Nusrat Ali Shah Kazmi (Chairman)
Dr. Zafar Iqbal Qadir (Ph.D)
Mirza Saud Ahmad (PSP)
Mr. Zahid Arbab (Business / Sportsman)
Ms. Zebunnisa Gandapur (Gender Specialist)
Mr. Nadeem Bukhari (Forester)
Mr. Mujahidullah Babar (Teacher)
Mr. Farhan-ul-Haq Faisal Hashmi (Secretary to the Board)
9. Current Projects
Current running projects of ZKF are as follows:
9.1 Dr. Zareef Memorial School, Peshawar:
Dr. Zareef Memorial School, Peshawar is one of the non-profit projects of
the ZKF established in 1988 and is housed in a rented building on G.T Road
just before the flyover bridge. The school is providing good quality
education to over 300 children aged four to sixteen at 25% fee compared to
equivalent quality schools in the city. This school caters for the educational
needs of the lower middle income communities of the eastern periphery of
Peshawar city.
The school has the distinction of being headed by Ms. Amanda Edwards in
1991 and Mrs. Margaret Edwards in 1992. Both British ladies volunteered
for one year each. Ms. Muffin and Mr. John Darren Green from UK had
also volunteered as teachers in this school in the years 1991 and 2000
respectively.
Late Sr. Patricia Kennedy, a
Catholic nun from the Cabra
Convent in Adelaide, South
Australia, had come as a
Volunteer in 1994 and
headed the school as the
Principal till 2008.She passed
away in Australia in peace on
23rd March 2009. Under her
able guidance, the teachers
were trained and groomed
well and because of her
personal philanthropy, a
computer lab with 10 units
was donated and established
in the school in 2002.
Besides, a library that she
established with 5000 books
mostly donated by schools in
Australia is still considered
one of the best used library in
the country. The Computer Lab was named after her then and after her
passing away, the library was also named after her. Student centered
learning, public speaking and independent thinking skills are developed
amongst all the students majority of whom are also proficient in spoken
English after age seven. In recognition of her services in the field of
education in Pakistan Sister Patricia Kennedy was awarded a certificate of
appreciation by the Prime Minister of Australia in 2004. This is a matter of
great honour for ZKF.
Introduction of ‘Peace Education’ in 2004 as part of the school curriculum
is another unique feature of the school after a Professor of Canterbury
University of New Zealand had trained the entire DZMS faculty in
Peshawar in 2004. In NZ, schools which practice this program are called “Cool
Schools” because the students are trained to resolve their disputes amongst themselves
without interference of the teachers or management.
9.2 Dr. Zareef Memorial School, Village Tarkha (District Nowshera):
Tarkha Village is adjacent to village Ali Shah (birthplace of Dr. Zareef).
The Primary school was opened in a rented building on 6th April 2009
catering for age four to ten children of a network of nearby villages. In
March 2009, ten women from Tarkha & nearby villages were invited to
attend fifty contact hours of BASIC TEACHER TRAINING organised by
ERIC in the Tarkha branch. At present, there are eleven female teachers
from different villages who are providing good quality education. The
monthly tuition fee is quite low, ranging between Rs. 600 to Rs.800
equivalent to US$ 6 to 8 per student from April 2014. Before that, it was
much lesser. The student strength had risen to 175 but it fell to 101 due to a
wrong announcement from the Peshawar High Court to charge full fee from
first child & hold from every subsequent child of each family. The standard
of education is by far better than many village schools and is comparable
with many English medium schools of Peshawar which charge up to 7 times
higher fees. For the early two years, its budget was supported and
subsidised from the income of the Peshawar branch. The Tarkha school
model is excellent for replication and has great potential to improve the
quality of other private village schools of KP (if funding is made available).
Patron-in-Chief & CEO of ZKF attending a students function of a ZKF Primary School in Village Tarkha in
Tehsil Pabbi of Nowshera district along with parents and elders of the area.
Chairman of the ZKF Board Col (Rtd) Nusrat Kazmi with toddlers of ZKF’s Primary school in village
Tarkha (March 2014)
Students of ZKF’s Primary School in Village Tarkha for underprivileged community.
Sample handwriting of a teacher of ZKF’s School in village Tarkha after vigorous teacher training at ERIC,
Peshawar, an astonishing transformation of skills.
9.3 Education Resource & Information Centre (ERIC):
ERIC was established in January 1999 with the assistance and cooperation
of the Australian government, the Australian Volunteers International and
the Cabra Dominican Convent in Adelaide. It was inaugurated by the
Australian High Commissioner Mr. Geoff Allens. It is the pioneer & the
only Teacher Education Centre in KP providing pre and in-service training
to the teachers of private sector & semi govt. schools. Late Sr. Patricia
Kennedy devoted her services to DZMS since 1994 and was the moving
spirit behind the establishment of this Centre. She along with another
Australian Teacher Trainer Ms. Anita Cole trained the pioneer team of
teachers and trainers who subsequently became the faculty of ERIC where
over 3000 teachers of numerous private schools and institutions were
trained in KP. Out of the total, 80% of these trainees were females which
also included Afghan refugee teachers in Peshawar. It is the only institute of
its kind in the world which offers various courses in English, Urdu, Pashto
and Dari languages. ERIC training modules are of high international
standard which are currently in practice in Australia and other advanced
countries of the world.
ERIC also helped train over 3000 teachers of Kandahar Province in
Afghanistan between 2004 and 2006 and developed a two volume training
manual for their training in Pashto language. The Master Trainers of the
Teacher Training College of Kandahar were trained in Peshawar. This
project was financed by Oxfam-UK through Islamic Relief –UK. The
unique feature was that an Australian Catholic nun developed the manuals
& led the training.
Lady teachers of various private schools of Peshawar attending in-service training course in ERIC, Peshawar
which is a Teacher Training Centre of ZKF established in 1999 with assistance of the Australian government.
ERIC further offers a unique “Spoken English” Language Programme
enabling the participants to start speaking English in a 20 hour course
designed by an ERIC Advisor who was the ex-Head of the English
Department of the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. It has been realised that
millions of educated people are unemployed due to their inability to speak English as it
is a pre-requisite for most job interviews.
Teacher Training in progress at ERIC
9.4 ZKF Technical Education & Sports Complex (Phase- I) :
Dr. Zareef Memorial School has been functioning in a rented building for
over two decades.
In the first phase, 5.5 acres of land has been acquired opposite the
Peshawar Toll Plaza on M-1 motorway at the cost of approx Rs.600
million from the kind donation of a ZKF Patron Ms. Angelika Weller. The
perimeter wall costing Rs.1.6 mio is also completed. Further funds need to
be raised to finance the buildings and the infrastructure.
It is planned to construct a new building for school in a clean and healthy
environment. The new building should be designed to meet all the school
needs and the premises should have enough space for play grounds and
parking etc & should be big enough to accommodate 1000 students.
It is also planned that separate units for Vocational Training and Teacher
Training should also be built in the new school and the whole facility be
called ZKF Technical Education & Sports Complex which should be
registered with the Technical Education Board so that after class six
Technical Education is offered to both boys and girls. This change in
direction was necessitated to induce the students to adopt a technical skill
and also add dignity to skilled work.
Perimeter wall completed in July 2014
Sports activities will include the following:
Promote sporting activities as a speciality which other schools are not
providing.
Grounds will be used for nurturing sporting talent of the district / province to
produce future champions in Boxing, Martial Arts, Football, and Cricket
initially and guide them in the future how to be professionals.
Services of a National School Cricket Champion team coach as well as
services of former Captains and Coaches of Pakistan Football team are at
hand.
ZKF Patron Ms. Angelika Weller inaugurating the ground for play in Feb 2014
10. Completed Projects:
The ZKF has undertaken and completed a number of projects in the past. A
brief account of these projects is as follows:
10.1 Malakand Biodiversity Conservation Project (MBCP)
This project aimed at conservation of biodiversity in Provincially
Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) of KP. It was sponsored by GEF (SGP),
Pakistan and implemented in Kot and Sillai Pattai Union Councils of
Malakand Agency. Communities were organised in the local villages for the
protection of flora & fauna particularly the partridges, goral and the habitat
of Kabul Markhor. The KP Wildlife Department was the major collaborator
for technical support in implementation of the project.
Community mobilization in progress for MBCP in a remote village of Malakand region in KP,
Pakistan
10.2 Koochi Nomads Development Project (KNDP)
This project was also funded by UNDP-GEF (SGP). It aimed at conducting
research on the migration pattern & practices of Koochi nomads who are
the largest migratory people on earth. The research also included
determination of impact of their migration on the environment in Pakistan.
They travel seasonally between Pakistan and Afghanistan along with
livestock for centuries. A 20 minute video documenting Koochi migration
titled “Treading Through Time on the tracks of the Koochi” was also made
& which was also shown at the Swiss Pavilion during the June 2012 Rio
Summit on Climate Change.
An Afghan Koochi woman leading a camel in Zhob district of Balochistan (KNDP project of ZKF funded by
UNDP-GEF(SGP), Pakistan in 2007-8)
10.3 Relief Operations
ZKF teams took part in emergency relief operations during the earthquake
of 2005 and floods of 2010. This included the collection, transportation and
distribution of food & clothing as well as manufacture and supply of 200
fuel efficient cooking stoves. In addition, 200 UNHCR tents were also
distributed to the flood affectees.
10.4 Environmental Activism:
ZKF spearheaded a campaign from 2004 to 2007 to save the world’s largest
Pheasantry in Dhodial, established by the KP Wildlife Department in 1984.
It was being dismantled on the orders of four different Governors of KP to
create additional space for the newly established Hazara University. ZKF
solicited support from the World Pheasant Association, UK, the Daily STAR
of Karachi and the DAWN -TV channel which aired on prime time a fifty
minute documentary “The Inevitable Flight” specially made on request by
ZKF. Finally succeeded to persuade the Govt. of KP to maintain the status
quo.
In 2002, the Peshawar Development Authority started pulling down
balconies as well as sun/rain shades of the buildings along G.T. Road in
Peshawar city. Some of these buildings formed the cultural heritage of
Peshawar and the people resented its destruction. ZKF with the support of
UNESCO spearheaded an advocacy campaign through national press and
succeeded to persuade the PDA to halt the operation and thus save the
architectural heritage of Peshawar city being the oldest in South Asia.
In 2006, the Govt. of Punjab planned to convert 4100 acres of Government.
Reserved forest of Chir pine in Murree hills into “New Murree City”. This
pristine Chir forest, besides its other environmental values, formed the
watershed of Jhelum River in the east and Simli and Rawal dams in the
south, a crucial source of water for the twin cities of Islamabad and
Rawalpindi. In a country like Pakistan, already impoverished of forests, the
conversion of 4100 acres of forests into a concrete monstrosity was not at all
advisable. ZKF launched a rigorous advocacy & media campaign and after a
year long effort, it culminated in a suo-moto action by the Supreme Court of
Pakistan, effectively stopping work on the project. Subsequently, the new
Govt. of Punjab wisely decided to scrap the project altogether.
Tree cutting opposite ZKF office in Peshawar which took PDA to court.
11. Other Programmes Planned in Future:
11.1 First Aid Training of students and the community at large
11.2 Public and Preventive Health Education
11.3 Fruit & Food Preservation