Youth activism is being channelised through various youth conferences, online social networking forums, representation of UN programmes and local NGOs. They meet at forums; go through exchanges of realisation and strategic understanding.

Consequently there are various organisations registered under the Voluntary Welfare Agencies (Regulation and Control) Ordinance of 1961 with education as one of their main paradigm of functioning.

Among the many organisations working in sufficient collaborations here you have the Zindagi Trust, Hope Network and Karzaz Trust Foster Home that among other things have attracted several young people who have joined them as volunteers in the capacity of teachers, administrators, public relations officials, etc.

Sohail Hussain, a research officer with the Hope Network, says that the organisation extends from the northern top of Azaad Jammu Kashmir, areas of NWFP, urban and rural slums of Karachi and into the interiors of Sindh.

They divide into formal schools functioning in Karachi and Thatta, providing primary and secondary education and informal home schools empowering young women to educate the children in their locality in their homes all over Pakistan. These home schools are provided with free supplies of books and all the other basic necessities of a running school with the help of certain banks and corporations working with them as collaborative bodies.

Zindagi Trust, which started out of concern for there not being enough children in schools, after attracting them to their educational units through some incentives, has now as good as restructured the public education sector for school goers.

The successful proposal model of the SMB Fatima Jinnah Government Girls School is telling a story of reinvention of the teaching strategy, books and teachers, too.

A spokesperson from the Zindagi Trust shares “We replaced the out-dated textbooks with new imaginative and thought-provoking reading material. Our partner organisation, a children's book publisher, authored the Urdu textbooks for use in the schools. The trust has also introduced a UK-based math programme called New Heinemann Maths. English is now being taught through phonics, which uses both sights and sound to help children read better. These are just a few of the measures that have been taken to reform the school's academics.”

The government is funding the government teachers as well as taking care of the costs of utilities. The extra staff and teacher trainers are funded by the trust itself along with the book publisher, which in turn run on donations. Shehzad Roy, too, uses the proceeds from his own concerts to fund the trust.

Karsaz Trust Foster Home, working under Mr Ikhlaq Ahmed, is another inviting forum for youth to contribute for the betterment of the underprivileged children. There are 24 boys admitted as a single group at the home where they stay for a period of five years. They are prepared and groomed under strict discipline to appear for regular matriculation exams and enter college.

The students belonging to various parts of the country are selected through a testing system. They are provided complete boarding and lodging with academic and personality training. They are taken on various field trips as well as encouraged to take part in the various events arranged for them in order for them to get exposure leading to a sense of awareness of the world around them. The organisation is run on the basis of self-funding.

Apart from the organisations metioned here, there are several young individuals working for the educational good of this country in various ways, showing tendencies of the arising social responsibility in our society.

Haya Fatima, who would go through pangs of guilt seeing the unfortunate uneducated mass of children around her, says “I was fortunate enough to go to university but I wasn't really doing much to give something back to society.” Haya, with a group of friends, started to visit the G-Block (the living quarters of Karachi University's sweepers) to teach there after explaining what they wanted to do to that area's elders.

“The children are taught anything from basic Urdu and English to stories and games which can help them learn worthwhile lessons of life. It is necessary to mention here that 99 per cent of these children do not work to support their families. They waste away just roaming about, playing or indulging in fights with the other children in the area. It is just that the importance of getting an education is not comprehended by their elders,” she said.

“If you have the will and passion to work for a cause, you will take time out for it. It may reduce your TV watching time or you may have to cut down on your internet usage time ... but the sacrifice is truly worth it!” She added.

Another youngster, Sabieh-ul-Hassan, heads the Tauseef Memorial School, working in a slum area of Madina Colony in Karachi. The project belongs to a registered Pakistani youth organisation.

Sabieh says “TMS is a self-funded education programme, from the members' pocket money, to help child labourers who cannot afford the monthly fees of any institution, get quality education.”

She adds “We started teaching on a terrace but now have a room for the students. We follow a primary-level literacy course using books such as Jugnoo Sabaq, which are specially designed for informal primary education. Moreover, character-building, moral stories, basic math, computers, English and Islamiat are also focused on.

“We have seen many changes both in the students' attitude and aptitude. They learn to adopt good manners in carrying themselves while also keeping neat and clean,” she pointed out.

Faisal Malik is another self-driven youngster. A student of Entrepeneurship and SME Management, he serves in private schools for the lower-income group of society.

Faisal says “I announce cash prizes for the studious students. I find it is the best way to help them indirectly by negotiating with the school administration. I successfully have their fees waived off through my own working there for free.”

He adds “I try to help every child but am more focused on helping those who have financially constrained resources to continue studies. It is through general discussion with my colleagues and students that I come to know the issues being faced by those kids.”

Ahsan Raza along with a group of dedicated friends has started a voyage called Umeed-i-Sehar. They seek private schools to hold sessions for ninth and 10th graders. The students are educated about their civilisation and history. They focus on the gaps in their understanding of things while uplifting their knowledge and also making them understand the importance of tolerance. “We tell them that we are anti-nobody and pro-Pakistan,” he explains. Studying the lives of Salahuddin, Imam Ghazali and Khwarizmi also helps.

Last but not the least, there is a usual complaint that such youth initiatives are not training-based. Humera Bachal, a local girl from Mawach Goth in Karachi, can be seen as an example for answering this problem. Humera's fight against the difficulties females face in education in her conservative area is remarkable. She managed to give free tuitions to around 300 students but with no proper facilities.

Later, she joined an NGO called ARM for teacher training. She was able to turn the place into a full-fledged school.

Named the Rotary Street School, the place runs three programmes, simultaneously — a teaching programme for girls known as Taleem-i-Balighan, primary classes for young children and Islamic teaching classes.

Actions do not need the support of words, still Benjamin Franklin can sum this up better with “To get the bad customs of a country changed and new ones, though better, introduced, it is necessary first to remove the prejudices of the people, enlighten their ignorance, and convince them that their interests will be promoted by the proposed changes; and this is not the work of a day.”