DIL News 2010 - Winter

DIL Programs Change the Lives of Teachers

Each day, it takes Gulnaz Bibi thirty minutes to walk to school.  She makes the journey through rough and rugged terrain to teach math at the DIL School in Pind Malkan.  In the winter months, just getting to work can be dangerous.  But Gulnaz Bibi does it with a great attitude and excitement because she is grateful for the opportunity to teach.

Gulnaz Bibi often helps weaker students at recess and after school because she understands how extra attention and assistance can help a person succeed. Although she had completed her F.A. and was a class teacher, Gulnaz did not thrive until her school was adopted by DIL and she received additional training through the DIL Teacher Education Center (DTEC).   During the 6-week intensive training program in the summer of 2007, a post test revealed that she excelled in math and then was promoted to math teacher for grades 1 through 5.

Gulnaz enjoys learning new techniques to teach her students and looks forward to the intensive summer training sessions each year.  She says that the activity-based teaching methods have made it easier for her students to understand key concepts and they now take more interest in learning math.
Through scholarships and financial assistance from DIL, Gulnaz Bibi earned her B.A. and is now in the process of completing her B.Ed. With each achievement has come an upgrade in salary and greater financial independence. Gulnaz now supports her mother and looks after the families of her three brothers who are in the army and only come home on annual leave.

DIL’s programs not only improve the lives of students, but teachers as well. Gulnaz Bibi’s mother never went to school. Today, a generation later, access to education has empowered her daughter to change her life, the lives of her family members and of her students.

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