The Pencils and Erasers Foundation

While on a hiking trip in the district of Swat, northern Pakistan, I came across a beautiful expanse of land hosting a village called Sandoka. Located at the very edge of a valley, about a two hour drive away from the main road, Sandoka is as distant from the regions’ commercial areas as it can possibly get in the 21st Century.

Alongside two friends, I decided to approach the nearest visible home and request some water to fill up our water bottles. Now in Pakistan, especially in the northern areas which are known for their deep respect for culture and customs, one (especially a male) can never simply knock on a door, without first letting the villagers or neighbors of the home you are visiting, know of your presence. We therefore raised our voices, said the customary greeting (Assalamu Alaikum) and waited for a response. Nothing. After another try to get someone to hear us, a man shouted “Walaikum Salam” from one of the fields below.

He made his way up the rice paddies that make up the hills of Sandoka and greeted us with a big smile. He invited us into his hujra, a guest house (the place where male visitors gather in northern Pakistan). It was a small, dark, mud structure that had a fireplace in the middle and two rope tied beds on each side of the room. After giving us water and serving chai (a sign of the great hospitality shown by Pakistani Pashtuns), he told us all about the village, the people and the plethora of problems they face every day.

He exclaimed how most of the village is uneducated and the majority can not even read Pashto (their mother tongue) and Urdu (Pakistan’s official language)! He also complained of the lack of roads to the village, forcing people to make a 4 hour long journey in public transport to the nearest city, Barikot, for essentials. Though I knew that Pakistan was full of all sizes of villages and towns that lacked proper facilities, the case of Sandoka is a little more pressing due to its remote location and the makeup of the population. The people have been historically disenfranchised due to their ethnic makeup and tribal affiliation, forcing them to retreat into the mountains and live a lower quality life than the rest of the region.

On the way home, I could not think of anything else other than the events of the day and what I had just learned. Those people had never signed up for that standard of living, nor the difficulties that they face every single day of their lives. I knew that I had to do something and it was going to be related with education, as I had already conducted several events, wherein free school supplies were given to orphans and children from poverty stricken families, through my charity Pencils and Erasers.

It would be my biggest project yet and after consulting family, friends, people in the village and community leaders, it seemed realistic to build the first ever educational institution in the village of Sandoka!

It would be a small school, as after discussions with the elders, the structure of the school would have to fit the appropriated space for the project. It would be named Raza Khan School System (after my grandfather, Raza Khan, who stressed the importance of education) and be located in the center of the village so as to maximize the safety and comfort of all the students attending.

I decided to plan four phases to bring this project into fruition, from drawing board to welcoming students into the classroom!

Phase 1: Planning the dimensions of the physical infrastructure of the school.

Phase 2: Appropriating the budget and purchasing construction materials.

Phase 3: Drawing up the curriculum, learning objectives and hiring staff.

Phase 4: Finalizing infrastructure, purchasing desks, white boards, furniture and conducting events inaugurating the school!

I am so excited to announce that I am currently starting phase 3 of the project, after finalizing all the purchasing of construction materials yesterday and beginning to write the learning objectives for the school.

Below are two videos of the school I shot yesterday, the first a short video on my trip to Sandoka and the second, a more informative view of what I am working hard to achieve!

Follow me on my Youtube channel “Marwan Khan” and my Instagram @Marwankhanoffical to remain updated about the school!