Written by: Sharza Shakeel
Posted on: October 11, 2019 | 
| 中文
Faqir School Middle School courtyard
We perceive the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a project exclusively for economic development and industrial growth. After some observation, one finds it hard to overlook the societal impacts of CPEC, and the way it’s transforming people’s lives on a daily basis via efforts to improve the lives of the local community. The people of Faqir colony have also experienced some positive changes that have come about through the Gwadar Port.
Faqir Colony is a small, rural area on the outskirts of Gwadar, and it is known for its rampant poverty and diverse immigrant community. Faqir Colony Middle School (FCMS) was built with the aid of China Fund for Peace and Development (CFPD), and has since then become a milestone in promoting girls’ education in the region. The medium of instruction is in English, but the school also teaches mandatory Urdu classes and optional Chinese classes. Mr. Shair Mohammad, a local landlord, donated the land for the school, and the construction was done by a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC), and the school cost $0.4 million to build. Meanwhile, the China Overseas Ports Holding Company (COPHC) donated books, uniforms and also built the library in the school.
Students During Break Time
It officially opened in August 2016, when it was known as China-Pakistan Faqir Primary school; now, it has been upgraded to include a middle School. Although, it was initially built for the capacity of 150 students, it currently houses more than 600 students from Faqir Colony, and its nearby areas. The Pakistan-China Institute had a conversation with Maheen Sudheer, an 8th grader from the school, and her teacher Maria Essa, during the “Friends of Silk Road” (FOSR) Seminar in Islamabad. Maheen’s mother is a handicraft worker, who does traditional Baloch style embroidery, and her father is a driver in Turbat.
Maheen’s family had migrated from Turbat to Gwadar, in search of a better life and more opportunities for work. Maheen has five siblings, two of whom also study with her at Faqir Colony school. Ms. Essa has done her MPhil in Environmental Sciences from Quetta, and teaches Science and Arabic at the school. She lives on the outskirts of Gwadar and travels two hours everyday to teach the children.
The School From the Outside
People of Gwadar, and especially Faqir colony, are grateful for having a state of the art school so easily accessible for them. Parents have the opportunity to give better quality education to their children, and subsided schoolbooks and uniforms will give parents more incentive to keep the children in school. FCMS in particular, has become an example of women empowerment in the developing province of Balochistan; ten out of twelve of the teachers are female, and more than 60% are girls. Ms. Essa explained the transformation in her society due to the presence of more opportunities for women. A few years ago, women and young girls were not even allowed to come out of their homes, but now they go to school, and do extracurricular activities. Maheen has big dreams of becoming a doctor, and she believes in achieving them. She gave an impressive speech at FOSR, widely appreciated because of the confidence she exuded at such an early age.
Ms. Essa expressed her gratitude to the government and the companies for helping bring out societal change in that area and giving girls an opportunity for education. She hoped that the project would not lose its momentum, and she is right. But Ms. Essa is hopeful. “I am optimistic about the future; I think there are good things to come.”
A Classroom Excercise
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