Pakhtoon School

Following a visit to the bordering regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ramon Mohamed, a dual-heritage primary school teacher from Sheffield, approached a group of MArch students at the University Sheffield to help with a school project. The ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and recent floods in Pakistan make visiting the region difficult, and thus the main challenge was to develop tools for communicating remotely to help the groups in the region design a prototype primary school.

Without any first hand experience or contacts in the area, the group created a series of postcards to display the main design considerations with posed questions and possible answers, with an intention to allow Ramon to take them out to Mardan, Riyadh and Afghanistan to obtain feedback from the children and teachers out there as the process continues.

Also as result of the collaborative design process, Live Project Five held an open exhibition of its prototype design to propel the project forward, to secure funding, and to generate external interest in the project. The exhibition was pivotal not only in creating discussions but also buiding a relationship between the two universities, the University of Sheffield and the Abdul Wali Khan University of Mardan, including a variety of departments such as education, archaeology and psychology.

Professor Ali, the vice chancellor of the AWK University, has now committed a specific site to build the prototype school, with funding to cover the salaries of the teachers, resources, transport and maintenance costs. The school will aim especially to provide places for those who never attend school, those internally displaced, nomads and local rural children.

This was one of the original objectives of the client and a common goal between all those involved.

For more information please visit http://pukhtoonschoolsproject.wordpress.com

“I am now ever more determined to build the school with your support and to make a difference to the lives of these children who would otherwise have no opportunities and no hope.”

– Ramon Mohamed

Credits

Student Team: 

Caroline Gore-Booth, Max Lee, Weiqi Wong, Nil Cooke, Beth Riley, Rebecca Hinkley, Adam Longbottom, Sami Mallis, Tim Butcher, Meysam Nasimi, Zhuwu Huang

Mentor:

Prue Chiles