Pakistan Floods, One Year On: Shahbaz Goes Back to School

A one-room school

“Before the floods, this village had a one-room mosque school (Masjid). Most of the children sat under a tree.

"We now have this beautiful school and the children love it,” says Mukhtar Ahmad, headmaster of the Mullanwala Primary School. “The flood water took everything away from us but gave our children the opportunity for better education.”

Not a single structure standing

The unprecedented floods last year in Pakistan forced the villagers flee their submerged houses. When the water finally receded, the people discovered that not a single structure in the village was standing. Not even the one-room school.

So UNICEF and a partner built a new school for the village children.

This is just one of the 500 UNICEF will build by the end of the year, to help children return to school after the floods.

This new school's three-room structure and compound has all the essential amenities, including safe drinking water and sanitation, adequate school supplies and learning material and a ‘Child Friendly Schooling Approach”, in partnership with the Government of Punjab.

"We are getting a good education and we are happy."

The school now has 361 students, many of which had never been to a proper school before the floods. This is triple the number of children who were enrolled in the school before the floods!

Shahbaz, an 11 year old boy in Grade 3, is happy with his new school.

“When we returned after the floods, our school had been destroyed. Then, we got a tent school, books, bags and everything else. Later, they made us this school building. We are getting a good education and we are very happy. We thank UNICEF for this,” says Shahbaz.

"We now get clean drinking water from this hand pump," he adds.

UNICEF has given food, shelter and vaccines to millions of children following the Pakistan Floods. But one year on, so much remains to be done for these children. Donate to help children in Pakistan today.