“The literacy rate among Sikhs and other minority communities in Peshawar, especially for girls, is very poor. Girls in the tribal areas seldom get the opportunity to go to school due to the war against terrorism and poor socioeconomic status of the community in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federal Administrator Tribal Areas (FATA). The STARAE scholarship project will make a difference to the lives of the needy especially those who belong to the FATA region,” Said Herdyal Singh, Project Coordinator UNITED SIKHS, Pakistan. ” Said Herdyal Singh, Project Coordinator UNITED SIKHS, Pakistan.

Highlights:

• The STARAE scholarship project run by UNITED SIKHS in Peshawar is aimed at providing a good education to children of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
• As Pakistan continues its military efforts against the Taliban in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North-West Frontier Province) and Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan, millions of IDPs have been displaced, of which over 50% are children under 18 years of age. Hundreds of Schools have been destroyed by the Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA areas, seriously affecting the education of the girls and boys.
• Amongst the 39 students supported by the UNITED SIKHS STARAE project since 2010 are children of Jaspal Singh, who was brutally beheaded by Taliban in 2010.
• We are thankful to Pinderpal SIngh who, through the Bangkok Singh Sabha Gurdwara Education Fund and other individuals, has supported the STARAE scholarships programme in Peshawar. We are appealing for more sponsors so we may help provide good education to more needy children of IDPs in Pakistan.
• It costs £20 GBP/$30 USD a month (£240/$360 a year) to sponsor one STARAE scholar’s education. We aim to provide the STARAE scholarship to the Peshawar students until they finish their school education. Help sponsor a child’s education by setting up a monthly donation atwww.unitedsikhs.org/donate or posting a cheque to a UNITED SIKHS office near you.

Peshawar, Pakistan: UNITED SIKHS extended its STARAE scholarship project, in September 2013, to needy students from families who are Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Peshawar. After three months 75% of the 39 STARAE scholars have shown an improvement in their studies and 90 percent have achieved ‘A’ grades in their term test.

Under the STARAE project extra tuition was given to weak students and written tests were conducted for all scholars by UNITED SIKHS in order to monitor their progress. The STARAE scholarship covers monthly school tuition fee, expenses for books, stationery, uniform, warm clothes, transport, extra tuition and other educational expenses.

“We have been able to see an improvement because parents who were motivated by the financial help they received showed greater responsibility towards their children’s education. We have also informed the STARAE scholars that they will be rewarded if they maintain ‘A’ grades for their year-end exams,” said Herdyal Singh. Details of the performance of the STARAE scholars can be read here .

The STARAE project was started by UNITED SIKHS in rural Panjab in 2004 and since 2010 it has funded the education of about 100 Siklighar kids in the Sultanpuri Colony in Delhi. STARAE, which stands for Scholarships as Tool to Accelerate and Revive Academic Education, was extended in 2013 to 39 students in Pakistan with support from Pinderpal Singh through the Bangkok Singh Sabha Gurdwara Education Fund.

Under the STARAE project in Peshawar UNITED SIKHS pays the fees and other expenses directly to the schools of the sponsored children. The students who do well will also be helped to study at a local university. This project provides an opportunity to deserving students who belong to backward areas and also those who otherwise would not have the financial means to pursue a school or college education. Read about STARAE at www.unitedsikhs.org/starae.

How You Can Help

• We urgently need your help to make a real difference in a child’s life. Please sponsor a child today. Sponsorship for a school aged child is just £20/$30 per month
• Hold a small fundraising event. We will do our utmost to work with you. Email starae@unitedsikhs.org to sponsor a child’s education in Pakistan.
• Set up an online monthly donation at www.unitedsikhs.org/donate or make a donation by cheque made payable to UNITED SIKHS. These can be sent to your local UNITED SIKHS office. You may find the details at https://unitedsikhs.org/contact.php#IN

To read a previous press release on UNITED SIKHS efforts to help IDPs,
please visit: https://unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-23-06-2012-00.html

Issued By:
Mejindarpal Kaur
Director
UNITED SIKHS
starae@unitedsikhs.org
www.unitedsikhs.org