ZAREEF KHAN FOUNDATION

A PROFILE

www.zkf.org.pk

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