Pakistan: a new push for education

Two EDUxEDU courses in Sindh in the Diocese of Karachi and Punjab in the Diocese of Rawalpindi Islamabad with a total of 150 participants were carried out with great success. The event gave a new impetus to those working in the pedagogical field in Pakistan. In a school in Karachi with teachers and more than 400 children, workshops on the Zero Hunger project have already started with great success to reach one of the 17 goals of the 2030 agenda. A group of teachers has also been formed who will support the collaboration between the various Catholic schools in the diocese. Another group of educators has begun to take care – in a very poor neighbourhood – of the formation of children and young people.

The Head of Education of a diocese of Punjab, where there are about 25 schools, participated in the whole course with great enthusiasm. Someone said that he had found in the proposal of the International Focolare Centre for the formation of adolescents what he had been looking for and dreaming of for 25 years, namely a suitable and new programme for the integral formation of adolescents.

Many parents among the participants had a new impetus to move forward in the relationship and education of their children, they saw in their impressions and experiences the potential of a Christian educational style, which enhances the rich culture of Pakistan and gives elements to overcome the limits that each culture brings with it.

Those who dedicate themselves in the parish to the formation of children and young people have found valid answers to go ahead also inspired by the concrete actions proposed and have felt reinvigorated by the strength that implements a synergistic network between the various parishes and parish realities.

In the Dioceses of Punjab, 30-40 people have offered to work for the formation of children and young people. They said: ‘We have been formed and loved and now we want to work so that children and young people do not feel alone, but accompanied’. The EDUx EDU course provided useful tools to get started right away. Many appreciated the new approach in building the relationship between adults and children and the innovative proposal to offer Christian values to the new generations with current methods and tools close to today’s children.