ISLAMABAD: The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), in cooperation with the Malala Fund launched by Malala Yousafzai, has donated US$700,000 to build a girls’ school in Pakistan.
The Sharjah-based global charity will fund the school project through the TBHF ‘Girl Child Fund’ in cooperation with the ‘Malala Fund’ launched by Nobel laureate and female education activist, Malala Yousafzai.
The school is being constructed in Swat Valley, Yousafzai’s home district and will open its doors to 350 girls in its 11 classrooms once completed.
The move to fund the project was announced in the presence of Shaikh Sultan Bin Ahmad Al Qasimi, The Big Heart Foundation’s humanitarian envoy, and Malala Yousafzai, in Oxford, London, following an agreement signed by Director of TBHF Mariam Al Hammadi and Malala Fund CEO Farah Mohammad.
“I overwhelmingly thank The Big Heart Foundation for believing in my dream of a world where girls can choose their own future path. With their support, the Malala Fund can provide education for girls in my hometown, Swat Valley in Pakistan,” said Malala on the occasion.
The donation covers half the project’s financial needs and will be used to build classrooms, science and computer labs, staff rooms, principal’s room, a reception area and playground facilities. The school will also have a library, laboratory, an activity hall, and accommodation for female teachers from remote areas.
The funds will also partly cover the first two years of the school’s operational costs.
TBHF is a charity that aims to protect and enable vulnerable and marginalised children and their families, with a primary focus on the Arab world, but it also extends support to other areas in most need.