Our students, who always wait for such events, were all ready to leave half an hour before the time given to them for the departure of buses from the school. Two large buses were arranged by Mrs. Mustafa and we took our two school vans as well.

It was a fun-filled, educational trip where our students not only had fun but learned so much about the different planes and jets used previously by Pakistan Air Force.

The students saw the personal plane, Viking 1-b used by Mr. Jinnah for his last visit to Ziarat, where he died and the same plane brought his dead body back to Karachi. The students were amazed to see a telephone, and his personal rest room inside the plane.

There was also an F-86 Jet, amongst others, which Mrs. Shabina Mustafa’s husband, Flt. Lt. Syed Safi Mustafa (Shaheed) SJ, used to fly during his time with the PAF. He was missing believed killed in 1971 before the war in Bangladesh (East Pakistan).

There were old planes and new planes. An Indian plane captured in Sindh by the Pakistani forces, helicopters, aviation radar systems, badges of ranks in PAF, the changes in the PAF uniform over the years, etc on display at the PAF Archive Gallery.

There were also pictures of all the martyrs in one gallery where there was Flt. Lt. Syed Safi Mustafa (Shaheed) SJ’s picture with his short life history put up along with other martyrs’ pictures.

Later on, the students were given money to take rides in the amusement park there which was the best time of the trip for them! These students rarely get a chance to experience such rides and they shouted and laughed and got scared and had incredible fun on them!

Before leaving, everyone had a snack. The students and staff all had a very good time and we would all like to thank Mrs. Shabina Mustafa for arranging such an event for us

!

Poverty is the basic cause of all their domestic issues. The state of their homes was terrible. There were no windows for ventilation, barely any furniture, unpainted, barren walls and barren floor and since most homes had only one or no bed to sleep on with more than 8 members of the family living in one house, most of them slept on bare floors. Mrs. Mustafa, who calls these people her family, was so upset to see such dearth of the basic necessities. If only she had enough funds to upgrade these homes…

And since dreams do come true, the very next day, someone sent her a large used carpet that Mrs. Mustafa cut and divided amongst three families. The day after that, one of the previous volunteers at The Garage School, Huma Agha arranged sponsors to get those three houses painted and a small study area made with a little table, two chairs and a couple of shelves for the students of The Garage School. Homework will now be so much fun!!!

These are just three homes. We desperately need more donations and funds to continue upgrading these localities. Mrs. Shabina vows that she will continue her struggle for the upliftment of these neglected slums of the most elite areas of Karachi.

Please help The Garage School and Mrs. Shabina Mustafa in capturing the heart of Neelam and Shah Rasool Colonies and catching the soul of these people. Spread this ray of light in Neelam and Shah Rasool Colonies!

Account details are given below for cash donations:

Account Number:
1005-0081-030519-01-8
The Garage School
Bank Al Habib Ltd.
Branch Code 1005
Swift Code: BAHPKKA

16 Commercial lane 3, Phase V, Zamzama boulevard,
Defence Housing Authority, Karachi Pakistan
Tax Approval No. CIT/COS.V//2006/464

For donations in kind, please email at thegarageschool@gmail.com.

As an incentive for coming on Saturdays, one of our regular volunteers, Mrs. Samina Lotia took the students of Grade 3 to Hyperstar at Dolmen City Mall on 21st January, 2012. She gave them money to buy candies, etc. The students, for whom it was a first experience at a hyper market and also at any mall on the whole were all extremely excited and bought the luxuries which are normally unaffordable for them.

Incentives like these are always given to students so that they not only work hard but realize their hidden talents by visiting these different places of learning and activity.

Traditionally, The Garage School celebrates its students’ birthdays. It is a special day for a child when he/she is made royalty. They cut their birthday cakes and their class sings the birthday song for them. A little gift is given by the school to make the day more special. This month, however, our teacher Ms. Huma Adnan celebrated her birthday in school on the 20th of January, 2012.

There was cake, chips, chaat (a Pakistani specialty snack which consists mainly of chickpeas and potatoes with tamarind and lots of spices) and soft drinks. Her class sang songs,  made cards for her and had a hearty snack in the end.  It was a joyous event as it was the first time that a teacher had treated her students on her birthday. Later on, Ms. Huma received a nice surprise gift from Mrs. Shabina Mustafa.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MS. HUMA!

CAP  started this program on the 19th of January in our school. The students, of ages 11 and above, are enrolled in this 3 year, comprehensive course of theirs which is held every Thursday for 1 hour in the afternoon. The Citizens Archive of Pakistan is trying to instill the pride we all must have of Pakistan. The activity based teaching approach is surely going to help our students in their learning abilities along with sowing the seed of patriotism in their hearts.

Clicking away pictures and talking to our students, Sadia was thoroughly impressed by the work being done at TGS. Her visit made all the difference as she personally experienced the bittersweet joy of helping the underprivileged children, for whom milk is only a luxury that they can rarely afford.

Sadia chatted away the morning with our little ones, spoke to one of our students, Irfan, of the Matric program who also works as an office assistant in the morning and she also met Shabana, our school incharge, who’s mother to one of our school students and a teacher, Mariam who was previously a student at TGS.

It makes all the difference when someone comes for a visit as the fist hand experience of education in the face of so many difficulties is overwhelming. Thank you Sadia, for taking out the time to come and appreciate us!!!

Keeping in mind the theme, the students of The Garage School performed a tableau showcasing the provinces and regions of Pakistan.

Clad in national and provincial attire, the students performed the dances of all the four provinces showcasing the “Colors of Pakistan”.  Confident, energetic and extremely disciplined, our students made the crowd dance in tune with them. The tableau ended with Mr. Ross Mintzer’s (volunteer at The Garage School) performance of the song Jazba Junoon on his saxophone and the students left the hall singing with him.

CIO Pakistan presented a trophy to the school in appreciation for all the efforts put forward by the staff and students for organizing the perfect performance for the evening.

To all those students who performed that day… YOU MADE US ALL PROUD!

A total of 30 students and staff members went to see the match, where the students’ enthusiasm not only uplifted the spirits of the team players but it also helped to promote domestic cricket amongst the younger generation which in turn will help in the development of the future talent of Pakistan Cricket.

Mr. Ahmad was one of the founding members of The Garage School. Also a trustee of The Garage School board, he will be immensely missed by everyone. He was a pillar of support to Shabina.

Please recite fateha for Mr. Athar Ahmad.

It was very unfortunate that Shabina herself could not be present to receive this prestigious award. She was in Dubai, looking after her extremely sick brother who is suffering from Brain Tumor and it was not possible for her to leave him behind and fly back to Karachi.

The award was presented by Mr. Rafiq Rangoonwala, CEO of the Cupola group. Mr. Zain Mustafa was accompanied by his friend Omar, Mrs. Almaas Sadiq, the academic administrator at TGS, Mrs. Asif, academic volunteer at TGS and Sarah Adnan, Shabina’s secretary.

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Mrs. Shabina Mustafa from the staff and students of The Garage School!!!