Rising Above Adversity: How the Lasallian Foundation Helped La Salle Girls’ High School in Faisalabad, Pakistan Overcome a Seating Shortage

Imagine being excited to go to school and learn, and then there aren’t enough seats for everyone. No matter how enthusiastic you are, it’s hard to do your best when there’s nowhere to sit or write. Students at La Salle Girls’ High School in Faisalabad, Pakistan, faced this reality recently.

How did this happen? Well, families in the Faisalabad area realised that the school is a safe place for their daughters to be and to attain an education for the future. As a result, the enrollment of the school exploded by 305 per cent. In the meantime, the girls’ school was undergoing a renovation. The aging desks were moved from place to place, and some of them got damaged in the process.

As a result, La Salle Girls’ High School found itself with 550 students enrolled and about half that number of desks. While spirits among the staff and students were still high, and the students’ performance on their tests remained excellent, the lack of suitable furniture was placing a strain on the school and its young pupils.

School leaders knew this was not a sustainable situation and reached out to the Lasallian Foundation for help.

School leaders requested funding from the Lasallian Foundation to address this urgent need. The school received just over AUD 9,000 from the Foundation that had been donated by a family connected to Oakhill College which was supplemented by a small contribution from the school. The donation enabled the school to purchase 375 chairs with attached desks, a computer table, and a computer stool.

La Salle School’s leadership believes that education Br Shahid Mughal, Principal of the school, thanked the Foundation for providing not only the funds for the much-needed furniture but also hope that the school will be able to rise to the challenge of adequately educating the hundreds of young girls in its charge and preparing them for the future. La Salle Girls’ High School plays a pivotal role in building a bright future for girls in Pakistan.

The Lasallian Foundation’s mission is to support educational works and initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region, addressing the needs of the poor and underserved where La Salle schools are established. During 2023, the Lasallian Foundation provided over $850,000 for use in projects in Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, India, South Sudan and Fiji. For more information, visit: https://www.lasallianfoundation.org.au/