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Muslim Aid volunteers gather #UpForSchool signatures

There was no magic formula �鶹APP� just hard work, planning and plenty of passionate volunteers. That�鶹APP�s how collected 669,115 signatures for the in less than three months.

Using brochures and banners, T-shirts and posters, the humanitarian charity swung into action in March to gather support for the campaign �鶹APP� a youth-led petition which demands that world leaders keep their promise to get all children into school.

Saqib Farooq Babar, Muslim Aid Pakistan Head of Programmes, said: �鶹APP�It was a wonderful activity. I hope that Muslim Aid Pakistan team efforts will contribute to the overall objectives of the campaign and children will get the required support from governments and donor institutions for education.�鶹APP�

The organisation�鶹APP�s amazing work has helped the #UpForSchool Petition reach eight million signatures. It will be handed in to the United Nations General Assembly in September.

More than five million children in Pakistan are denied an education. When Muslim Aid decided to be part of the #UpForSchool campaign, field offices including Pakistan were asked to take part. 

Muslim Aid Pakistan�鶹APP�s report on its #UpForSchool campaign said: �鶹APP�We support the cause that every child has the right to an education. In Pakistan we are working in the thematic area of education and are currently running child development centres, Rainbow Family programmes, �鶹APP�street to school�鶹APP� projects and many other initiatives for out-of-school children to bring them back to schools.�鶹APP�

Country director Khobaib Ahmed Vahedy gave the responsibility to head of programmes to lead the campaign and to make sure all staff were involved.

To ensure the campaign was visible, banners, brochures, shirts and posters were printed and a detailed presentation was given at the Islamabad office. Staff were asked to start collecting signatures from their areas, their families, communities, colleges and universities.

Collecting signatures at Comsats University in Islamabad

The various regions �鶹APP� Sindh, Punjab, KPK and Islamabad �鶹APP� were given ambitious targets of numbers of signatures to collect. Each provincial manager or co-ordinator shared the information with their project teams and the campaign began in earnest.

Schools, universities and communities were targeted. The report said: �鶹APP�Our main focus was to arrange campaigns in remote areas and create awareness about the importance of education and to support the campaign by getting signatures.�鶹APP�

Volunteers at Ripah University get appreciation certificates

Muslim Aid Pakistan has a strong network of volunteers and its public relations and communications team engaged about 160 to take part in the campaign in these areas �鶹APP� Azad Kashmir (Rawalakot, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Hattian Bala), Sindh (Karachi and Hyderabad), Punjab (Lahore, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Chakwal, Multan), Kyhber Pakhtunkhwa (Peshawar) and Gilgit-Baltistan (Gilgit, Astore, Hunza). 

Volunteers from 17 universities and several schools also took part. Muslim Aid Pakistan�鶹APP�s Iqra Khalid, who led the team of volunteers, said: �鶹APP�Community service is not about giving monetary support. It is something more than that �鶹APP� to render your services for those in need.

�鶹APP�The #UpForSchool campaign was a unique idea to sensitise the public and communities about the importance of education and how we can help those who are in a need of this support from all of us.

Volunteers at Fauji Foundation University in Islamabad

�鶹APP�This is really an exciting campaign for me at the very start of my professional career and it was really wonderful to work with my ex-university fellows and other volunteers from different universities to raise the voice for those who don�鶹APP�t have the privilege to get a better education.�鶹APP�

The signatures campaign also resulted in other benefits for Muslim Aid Pakistan. Mr Saqib said: �鶹APP�During the campaign we have achieved many other objectives, including the effective and efficient involvement of our existing volunteers, and also enhanced our list of volunteers to get support in any situation in Pakistan.

�鶹APP�Our visibility was enhanced and now many universities and communities know about Muslim Aid and its efforts of serving humanity.�鶹APP�

If you haven�鶹APP�t signed the #UpForSchool Petition yet, .