Barriers in motivating

‘You showed us an elephant that could draw a picture, but our work is harder than this. Motivating people in Pakistan that education is worthwhile is more difficult than teaching an elephant to draw.’

The tough part is talking to people and to convince them that education can free them from the cycle of poverty. Many Pakistani villages do not have the basic facility of schools due to poverty and a lack of awareness. They do not know what education is or what is it like to become educated.

 When PEP wants to start a new school, our field staff make the first visit. They go to the village and talk with the landlord about opening a new school. Most of the times it is hard to convince the landlords because they think that if the children of their community start going to school they might not want to continue working in the fields. The landlords don’t want this because the community is from a low caste and he doesn’t want them to become a threat, so he refuses for a school to be opened.

Sometimes if the landlord does agree to open a school, it becomes difficult to convince the community. The community doesn’t want to send their children to school because they can’t pay the fees (about $1 a month) and can’t see out of their poverty.

 But they don’t understand that investing today can save their tomorrow.

PEP as an organization focuses on developing sustainability among the communities so that one day they can be able to develop themselves on their own. We tell them that they have all that they need right in their village. They only need the willingness to move forward and a positive mind to bring change.

We want our students to become change agents for their villages. Through PEP trainings we build the confidence of our teachers and students. We want them to become strength and hope for their communities. Many PEP schools stand today because they believe that they can be a positive force of change. Our hope is to be able to motivate and convince those communities who do not yet believe that they can do something big. We want to encourage them that their children are worth investing in.

Partner with us today to motivate, convince, and encourage these communities.