An Introduction to this Blog

Keiri Reki is a village just outside the town of Nathiagali in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly NWFP) of Pakistan. In 2005, it was devastated by an earthquake. Five years later, its only secondary school for girls remains in ruins, without functional bathrooms or potable water.

Yet, though dilapidated, the school has not fallen into complete disuse; a resilient group of villagers and girls eager to learn have kept the school running as best they can.

This summer, join Circle of Women as we work to revitalize this school through Project Keiri Reki.

Renovation Roundup

Circle of Women’s renovation plans for the school are three-pronged:

Bathrooms: Studies indicate that, in addition to clear health and sanitation benefits, the presence of bathrooms doubles the likelihood that girls will consistently attend school. Circle of Women plans to install four bathroom chambers and one new septic tank in the school.

Drinking Water: our school in Keiri Reki is one of 45% of schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that do not have potable water for their students. We hope to provide the facility with two water tanks, one underground with 6,000-gallon capacity, and the second overhead with 600-gallon capacity.

Computer Lab: A year ago, the school received a donation of eight computers, which have since then been sitting in storage for lack of a space for (or knowledge of) their use. In response to this inefficiency, we will build a computer lab with a LAN system to facilitate the computer training of every student at the school.

Navigating the Notes

We began construction on this school in May. Over the next few months, as Project Keiri Reki continues at full speed, we will be using this blog to provide project updates, including photos, interviews, and more.

Our primary author will be Nur Ibrahim, who is on site in Nathiagali, Pakistan. A native Pakistani and rising college sophomore, Nur is an associate with Circle of Women’s base at Harvard College, and she is our primary coordinator for Project Keiri Reki. Throughout the summer, Nur will be checking in on construction and connecting us with students and teachers at the school.

We hope the comments section of this site will be an open forum for any thoughts, feedback, or questions you have regarding developments in Project Keiri Reki. Please feel free to contact us at info@circleofwomen.org for more information about who we are and what we do.

We’re excited to have you along as we move forward with this initiative!

The Circle of Women Operations Team