As you enter the Dr Soomar Khoso Elem­entary School in Ahmed Detho Village, Talhar district Badin, a diverse environment greets you. Plants abloom with flowers, students chanting lessons mixed in with the chirping of birds in trees. Bamboo walls covered with fragrant creepers support a thatched roof and create a cool, airy and pleasant atmosphere, perhaps motivating the kids to spend more time in school.

It’s 7am and the children have started to arrive. They will take online classes conducted by Rizwan Iqbal, who resides in Canada and gives lessons online to children in remote areas.

In a solar-powered classroom, girls sit in the front while boys take the back rows. Their eyes are focused on a big screen for the next one-and-a-half hours.

One man’s efforts to give the children of his village a better future have strengthened a sense of community

The school opened in 2013 with just 15 students. It now has more than 350 students enrolled from 25 nearby villages.

During break time, children wearing camel-coloured uniforms, play cricket and other games.

Aneela Khoso, a student of class three, shows me her drawing of a big tree in various colours. “Previously, I would only do household chores but now, after school, I first complete my homework then do other tasks,” she says and proudly adds, “I have a uniform, books, pencils and colours, and I love drawing animals, trees and shapes.”

These children are happy to be at school and feel that it is better than any other place in their village. “I love these colourful flowers that have been planted in the school,” says eight-year-old Dileep Kumar. “We don’t pick them because our teachers have taught us about the beauty of nature and how important it is for us.”

Kumar lost his father two years ago and lives with his mother. Between them they split the domestic chores. Earlier, he would spend a lot of time cutting wood for fuel and carry pots of water home but now his mother sends him to school because she foresees a better future for both of them if he gets an education.

These children are happy to be at school and feel that it is better than any other place in their village. “I love these colourful flowers that have been planted in the school,” says eight-year-old Dileep Kumar. “We don’t pick them because our teachers have taught us about the beauty of nature and how important it is for us.”

“Past hazards and sufferings forced me to open a school for the children of my village,” says Dr Khoso, who has turned the government primary school into a cost-effective and model school. I didn’t want them to face the same difficulties which other villagers and I have confronted in the early ’70s, with no education facilities accessible to us.”

“There was a school at Saeed Pur village, 11km away from our village Ahmed Detho, and other students and I would travel daily to study there,” he adds, “which was difficult and frustrating.”

In another classroom covered with multiple creepers, children are learning English grammar. “We want to make these children confident to step forward into a bright future,” Munawar Hussain, the teacher explains during recess. “Here they find a more conducive, child-friendly environment unlike other schools in their villages. Some schools don’t function at all.”

“Apart from three government teachers, there are four private teachers and two volunteers from the community who are all very passionate and dedicated to this school,” says Abdullah Talpur, the headmaster of the school. “Our strength is increasing day by day, which is a wonderful sign. But we need more teachers and resources to fulfil the basic requirements of a school.”

Dr Khoso didn’t expect such a positive response from the children. “As the number of students increases, it inspires me to take a step forward and make this school a bigger institution. I am grateful to everyone who has supported us morally or financially,” he says.

More than 50 percent children belong to the Kohli and Bheel communities the lowest castes. Some students such as Bheemraj, Shaman and Bachal live in a village six kilometres away from school, which means they travel upto 12 km a day to and from school. Village Mohadi, where they reside, has a different type of school.

According to Alif Ailaan’s Pakistan District Education Ranking 2016, Badin is ranked 104th out of the 145 districts of Pakistan, while it ranks 17th out of the 24 districts of Sindh. In terms of educational attainment, 56 percent of the children aged five to 16 years are still not in school.

Miracles are obviously possible if communities start to own schools. “They could bring quality education to their villages,” says Mukesh Meghwar, a leading campaigner for Badin Education Emergency. The recent development of monitoring schools by the education department is good, he says but the question about the quality of education remains. “The government must think in terms of providing a competitive standard of education across the province.”

The writer is a freelance photojournalist and tweets @genanimanoj

Published in Dawn, EOS, November 19th, 2017