Foundational Learning
IEI recognizes the power structures that hinder education: a fundamental right for all. Gender, geography, climate vulnerability, care responsibilities, and unequal access to public resources all influence who enters a school.
We work with children, local educators, families, schools and communities to build joyful learning opportunities while changing the conditions that prevent girls and children from accessing them.
Early Years Education
Where a child begins should not determine how far they can go.
Many communities in Gilgit-Baltistan lack schools, trained early-years educators, and learning materials. Geographic isolation makes these gaps harder to address. Climate-related disruption can deepen them further.
IEI builds ECD schools and public libraries in remote communities, working with public schools and local leaders to create early learning environments for children of all ages.
Building ECD Schools and Libraries
A child cannot benefit from a curriculum if there is no functioning classroom, no teacher, and no safe place to learn. IEI has constructed dedicated ECD schools in 5 communities, opened 4 public libraries, connected electricity, and provided furniture, books, teaching materials, and digital tools.
Misgar Valley
2018School construction, teacher training and curriculum planning/assessment.
Shimshal Valley
2019–2020Teachers’ salaries, electricity connection & digital tools at Government Boys Middle School.
Chipursan Valley
2021Teachers recruitment, salaries, training, and furniture/tools for Government Girls Middle School.
Villages in Chipursan
2022Construction of ECD schools in three villages, & launch of Teachers Support Group on WhatsApp.
Ispinj Village
2023Construction of ECD school with support from Polish Aid, reaching out-of-school children.
Sher-e-Sabz Village
2024Experiential curriculum (phonics, STEM, art) in an under-resourced public school.
Localized Educators
Employing educators from within the community creates continuity, strengthens trust with families and keeps knowledge rooted locally. Our support includes teacher recruitment and salaries, training, lesson planning, early-years assessment and practical coaching.
Beyond One-Off Interventions
We do not leave communities to fend for themselves. IEI provides 2 hours of daily continuous support through our Teacher Support Groups on WhatsApp, which function as a community of practice. Our regular video guidance is in local languages for accessibility.
How Children Learn
IEI’s approach places curiosity and relationships at the centre of the classroom. Young children learn by asking questions, moving, creating, observing and playing.
STEM & Summer Camp
Children develop early literacy and phonics while also exploring art, STEM, nature and collaborative activities. Experiential curricula — combining phonics, STEM, and art — bring joyful, hands-on discovery to under-resourced public schools.
Seasonal camps extend this playful, curiosity-led approach beyond the classroom, giving children more time to ask questions, build, and explore together.
Changing Who Gets to Learn and Who Gets to Decide
Through leadership programs and life/digital skills, girls and young women build confidence, communication skills, rights awareness and the ability to advocate for themselves.
Girls organize safe spaces where they can identify common challenges and organize around them. These conversations include mothers, fathers, and grandparents to build intergenerational solidarity.
Girls engage religious leaders, male community decision-makers, school leadership, and other government representatives to ensure systems change that allow continued access to education.
Parveen’s Story
Parveen Amjad was 17 when she married, days after completing her Grade 12 examinations. By the age of 23, she was a mother of three, and her own education had been interrupted. Determined to reclaim her path, Parveen enrolled in a graduate degree through distance learning while managing the responsibilities of motherhood. She later became a 2025 Saheli Leader Fellow.
In Thole, Nagar, Parveen organized around the effects of early marriage and early pregnancy on education. Through her Saheli Circle, girls aged 15 to 18 developed the confidence and life skills to advocate for their rights.
Parveen and the girls then organized Thole’s first Girls Education Event, bringing together parents, school leaders, youth representatives, religious leaders and members of the education directorate. The event created a public space for girls to name the social norms and practical barriers affecting their education.
Through community dialogue, parent petitions, school mobilization and engagement with the District Director of Education, her organizing produced tangible results.
“I take pride in the fact that I never accept defeat. I keep struggling and moving forward.”
— Parveen
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Support our work
IEI Pakistan runs on small donations from our community and microgrants from philanthropic funds. We do not have any corporate sponsors or political donors. If you’d like to support our feminist movement building, get in touch.