November 23, 2020
NewsLetter

Dear All,

Hope all of you are doing well and staying safe from the calamity of this novel virus, Covid-19. Since March it has had a major impact on education by interrupting the normal functioning of the schools. While we read and heard about the education being imparted online, our target school was unfortunately particularly affected as no online schooling was done.

Fortunately, we at FEF have been using this time to think through our program and implement improved ways of  creating measurable impact. We are excited to share the following updates.

When we started our program earlier in the year, we used a makeshift kitchen set up in a corner of the school administrator’s house next door. Taking full advantage of the long closure of schools, we have now constructed a fully functional kitchen at the school in Orangi. This new kitchen has a separate storage area in which we will be storing dry supplies such as rice, flour, etc., and has additional capacity to make food for other schools in the general area. This is a major milestone because, as you may know, we plan to expand our program to other schools as and when we have developed the financial capacity to do so. Soon, Inshah’Allah!

On September 28th when the schools re-opened for all classes, we restarted our School Meal Program (SMP). In restarting the meal program, one of our challenges has been the sharp increase in the cost of food supplies. We are bracing ourselves as we do realize that there will be other spikes in the future also, but we hope that they are not as sudden and sharp as the present one. In order to improve our nutritional value in the meals, despite the additional cost, we have managed to add chicken to our menu on two of the six days of the week. As we continue, we will keep on rejigging our menus to reduce the costs while improving the nutritional value. There is much to be learnt and much to be improved.

All of us and the children at the school are very grateful to all our friends and well-wishers who have whole-heartedly supported our meal program and continue to support. This support has ranged from earnest attaboys to substantial funds, and honestly speaking it has really emboldened our resolve to keep on going. In order for us to do that we will need continuous support from individuals, businesses, or even the government. We call on you and will continue to call on you for FUNDING; every penny, cent, paisa, or fils will go a long way. Please do DONATE and pass on this message to others in your circle of friends. Without you we would not have come this far and with you on our side we avow to go much farther – today Orangi tomorrow the entire country. 

Please accept our profound THANK YOU.