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| Home : Community Investments |
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Banking on brighter futures is our flagship programme that allows us to use our financial skills and expertise to maximum effect to help people work towards financial independence and security. It is about giving disadvantaged people the chance of a better life they wouldn’t otherwise have. Through this programme we are focusing on:
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- increasing financial inclusion;
- encouraging entrepreneurship and employment; and
- Supporting access to education, particularly financial education.
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| To date the following projects have been launched under the banner of Banking on brighter Futures: |
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| A FIGHT AGAINST EXPLOIATATIVE CHILD LABOUR - UNICEF |
Barclays joined hands with UNICEF in 2008 with a funding of over Rs. 30 million for a two year project aiming at increasing the economic potential for vulnerable families involved in bonded or exploitative forms of labour through providing access to education, vocational trainings, youth clubs and advocacy.
The main focus of this partnership has been on vulnerable families that work at Brick Kilns in Faisalabad and Lahore. Efforts under this project are mainly focused on basic literacy, vocational training, and money management skills through establishment of on-site Non-Formal Education Centers (NFC). Other benefits include micro credit style loan schemes for the purchase of tools and equipment, birth registration, medical services and avenues such as child forums and child clubs for child participation with the support of the Office of Child Facilitation in Lahore. |
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| To date, this partnership has led to the following successes: |
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Establishment of 8 Non-Formal Education Centres (NFC) in full functional capacity in Lahore with NGO Bunyad Foundation and 8 more in Faisalabad with Hayat Foundation. In these 16 NFCs, over 2000 children have access to education.
- Additionally, over 400 adolescents and women are receiving vocational training on demand driven skills in 20 onsite vocational centres.
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The project has also led to linking trained adolescents with local markets and micro-financing institutions for access to credit facilities in order to establish micro-enterprises.
- 100 individuals have launched small home based businesses contributing Rs.1500- 2000 to the monthly household income
- The number of unregistered children who have been issued with birth a certificate has crossed 2000 and over 2,500 adolescents have obtained CNIC.
- 16 youth clubs have been formed having 320 members with an aim to promote positive competition, sports, plantation, kitchen gardening, self protection skills and to encourage healthy behaviour
- 200 identifies families are benefiting with the conditional cash grant programme.
- 16 Day care centres have also been established having enrolment of 250 children in all NFCs for the benefit of 1-5 years old children
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| BARCLAYS HOPE HOME SCHOOLS |
Health Oriented Preventive Education (HOPE) is an NGO which is helping children, of rural areas and urban slums, pursue their dreams through the establishment of Home Schools which provide free of cost informal education in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
These schools are devised to keep the overheads to a minimum by hosting classes in teachers’ homes. Daily lessons last about four hours a day, giving children plenty of after- school time to help their parents on farms or at home which further encourages parents to send their children.
In Nov 2008, Barclays Pakistan adopted the Home School project in association with HOPE, creating “Barclays HOPE Home Schools” with the help of Rs. 3.5 million, to be contributed by Barclays every year, for 3 years. The project’s goals were to set up 100 informal schools across the country and educate over 3500 underprivileged children. The task of setting up 100 schools was accomplished in a short span of six months. Currently over 3800 students are attending Barclays HOPE Home Schools.
Barclays HOPE Home Schools are located all over Pakistan. The areas include Karachi, Ghagger, Kathore, Link Road, Dhabeji, Gharo, Dadu, Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) and NWFP. These children, who would otherwise be playing on the roads or spending their time in fruitless games and activities, now attend school. In addition, 100 young females are now contributing to the family’s income without needing to leave the premises of their homes. Some of the teachers are now studying for higher education.
The most commendable impact of Barclays Hope partnership is the role it has played in promoting female literacy in Pakistan. The remarkable increase in female students’ ratio in Home Schools which currently stands at 75% is a true testament of our aim that educations should be accessible to all. |
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| SUPPORT– A- SCHOOL WITH THE CITIZENS FOUNDATION (TCF) |
TCF is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality formal education in a conducive learning environment. These schools though not free of cost are heavily subsidized, due to which the drop-out rate is less than 2%.
In December 2008, Barclays Pakistan partnered with TCF to support their efforts in making education affordable to masses by a contribution of over Rs. 4.65 Mn for a year.
The funds provided by Barclays have supported a secondary school in Sarhindi Goth - a katchi abadi-slum area, in Karachi and a primary school in a small farming village called Burki, in Hudyiara, Lahore
To further support this project and for the holistic development of young minds Barclays has contributed to 20 TCF libraries across the country. With Barclays donation over3,500 students have benefited from the knowledge of these books in 2009 and many more will continue benefiting in the coming years.
Barclays has also funded a computer lab at TCF Secondary School at Mulla Essa Goth, in Karachi. Beneficiaries of the project are boys and girls from families living within nearby or walking distance of the schools. Beneficiaries are not just restricted to students; a number of faculty and non-faculty employment opportunities were also created through this project. The assistance extended towards TCF is based on our vision of empowering the youth to become self-reliant and we believe that basic education forms the foundation of this belief system.
To further our aim of giving equal rights to education, Barclays Human Resource Team has started including candidates from TCF schools in the Summer Internship Program, along with students from other private schools. The main aim is to encourage practical learning, enhance self-confidence and gain exposure to a competitive corporate environment. |
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| REFORMING A GOVERNMENT SCHOOL WITH BOOKGROUP |
With the support of local government, Bookgroup (a non-profit educational research organization) took up the challenge of presenting and running a “model” public school in the city, to set an example of how the whole system can be transformed by focusing on the right things.
Barclays joined hands with Bookgroup just when the model needed sustainability after a successful take-off. Barclays funding of over Rs. 7 Million supported modern curriculum development, teachers training and development, implementation of new teaching methodologies (including an Audio-Visual learning room) and a range of extra-curricular activities. This project has impacted the lives of over 2000 students and 125 teachers
The students at the school are now exposed to new course books and extra curricular activities which has helped them develop into well rounded students; willing and able to compete with students from across Pakistan. The change, witnessed in the last two years, has been nothing less than phenomenal.
Volunteers from Barclays participate in the school's activities from time to time. Colleagues spent time with the students on counselling sessions during International Women's Day. The students and colleagues got together during Plant A Difference Day and planted over 700 saplings on the schools ground which severely lacked plants. The objective was to raise awareness and develop students' appreciation towards ecology and love of trees.
Today the girls from the school regularly attend rowing competitions along with top notch private schools, they attend taekwando, pottery and photography classes, and some are coming up as fierce debaters. Their confidence is apparent to anyone who meets them.
Few of them are actually looking forward to pursuing higher education and joining a bank someday. |
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| CENTRE FOR SOCIAL MOBILIZATION WITH CARE-N-CURE |
Barclays Pakistan partnered with Care N Cure with an aim to provide education integrated with basic health and hygiene care to the underprivileged children of rural areas of Sind and Balochistan, by installing a Fibre Glass Class (FGC) in Moladad Goth – a medium sized fishermen colony on the border of Sindh and Balochistan.
With a contribution of less than Rs 600,000, the setting up and running of this one Fiber Glass Centre for Social Mobilization (CSM) in Moladad Goth is accommodating over 50 children. The Fiber Glass Unit works as a mobile classroom and health awareness centre. Since the Unit is easy to erect, dismantle and transport from village to village, it has a far reaching effect.
The children, parents and adults of the community are benefiting in the following ways:
- Care-n-Cure's community education workers hold classes under the literacy programme which works on developing reading and writing skills of the enrolled children. Under this program children are provided with free books and stationary.
- Care-n-Cure doctor also visits once a week to conduct health sessions for the whole community. This helps in creating awareness about basic hygiene and health care among children and their families. They are also provided with basic healthcare for prevention and early cure of diseases like respiratory infections, diarrhea and viral fevers etc. All these services are provided free of cost to the residents.
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| BARCLAYS SCHOLARS |
Barclays Pakistan has partnered with IBA and LUMS SSE to fund 4 annual scholarships titled Barclays Scholar. These scholarships are for students who are unable to fund their education due to financial constraints.
Commenting on the project, Chairman LUMS, Syed Babar Ali said: “Considering that some students are unable to fund their education, such programs assist in educating those deserving individuals who aspire for quality education. We appreciate the commitment of Barclays towards playing a key role in the education sector of Pakistan.”
The LUMS sponsorships commit to funding $80,000 for 2 students over a four-year undergraduate programme while 2 students at IBA have been financially sponsored to complete their two year MBA program with the funding of Rs. 700,000. |
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| Barclays is a trading name of Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiaries. Barclays Bank PLC is a public limited company registered in England and authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA No. 122702). Registered Number is 1026167 and its registered office 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. Barclays.com |
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