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Fouzia is studying in one of the schools supported under PRM supported Program for Retention, Enrollment, and Protection (PREP-II) in Schools for Afghan Refugees and Host Community in Quetta. Mercy Corps is implementing this three-year program in 13 peri- urban locations of Quetta, Balochistan province.
In 2017, Fazila dropped out of her school in 7th Grade due to the financial limitations of her family and lack of support especially her brother. Back at school, she had to balance time – a clocked equilibrium for arts and academics. While being dropped out, all the hands on her clock were ticking only for the artist. “That’s the best thing about painting” with confidence in her eyes, Fazila states “no one can restrict your imagination. I didn’t have coloring sets or charts back then, but I could still imagine the colors that would be on the imaginary artwork of the walls in my house”. Surrendering to her ever-popping requests of watercolors, her father brought her a pack of three colors – it was all that he could afford as a 45-year-old sole earner of a family of eight members. Blossomed in the joy of coloring, she spent hours on her artboard of a wall.
Knowing of Fazila’s desires, one of her friends informed her of Mercy Corps’ PREP-II Project which was supporting dropout girls with re-enrolment and financial support. After successful mobilization activities of the PREP-II Team, Fazila re-enrolled in her school and was now back again to being both a cheerful artist and a freewill student. Mercy Corps team not only supported her to get re-enrolled in the school but also provided her uniform and stationary to help her study. In addition, like other students supported under the program, Mercy Corps also provides a monthly stipend to not only encourage the parents to send their children to school but also to support the family in covering some of the expenses.
Soon after joining back her school, the envelope of her creative skills did not remain sealed for long and her teacher soon became aware of the artist in her class. “When I asked her of her inspirations to draw” Fazila’s teacher mentioned, “she said: Madam, its colors… I first think of colors and then of the sketch that will compliment those colors.”
After painting several artworks for her school, she participated in her first creative contest: The Intra-State Drawing Competition. Her energy was fueled by her biology teacher who mentored her throughout the contest.
“I only participated because she [teacher] asked me to,” Fazila remembers her pre-contest thoughts. I like my artwork and I know it looks pretty and, (pupils up) at least to me, (pupils down) but… (expanding her iris) Contests? Competitions? Nah.
As the concept of her image was announced, applause sheered among the attendees of the competition, and there and then, she was awarded the winning prize for her conceptual creativity. Fazila now aims high above the stars; she wants to embed the dancing colors of her imaginative artworks into embroidery – a skill that she is currently pursuing to learn after her school classes.
Mercy Corps supports 2,058 students in project supported 30 government schools (894 girls, 525 boys) and 16 Accelerated Learning Program Centers (409 girls, 230 boys) through monthly stipend. To further make the schools a safe place, Mercy Corps also conducts regular sessions on life skills and provides child protection awareness and services in the project supported schools including that of Fazila. Capacity building of teachers, rehabilitation of WASH facilities, provision of safe spaces, implementation of COVID-19 SOPs and awareness messages around COVID-19 prevention are also some of the activities being undertaken in government schools as part of the project.
