Maria-Helena Foundation

Chemistry class at the Rabya and Maryam science laboratory, Khairabad, Mansehra.

Covid protocols in place with young students wearing masks at the Iqra primary school, these are tuition free schools for girls.

New program started at the end of 2019 and commenced implementation in 2020. Now a key project for the MHF. Midwifery training of a class of thirty young girls and women. It is a one-year post nursing program at the Indus University of Health Sciences, Karachi. This program is costing us $650 per student per year with a total of $19,500 per year. In Pakistan the midwifery profession is considered of low social status. Students who enter this profession are generally from the lower strata of society. Most deliveries take place outside of formal institutional settings, especially in villages. The graduates from this program will also be able to work out of home. There is a very high rate of neonatal and maternal deaths at birth. Having trained midwives perform this service would help reduce such death rates. This initiative is being channeled through our partner: Human Development Foundation, Canada.

As you know, our mandate is to provide educational and medical aid to poor families in South Asia, and to offer bursaries to qualified university students in financial need in Canada. We are concentrating mainly on providing educational aid to the poor in Pakistan. All our projects are in Pakistan and are in partnership with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Bursary Fund at the University of British Columbia is continuing.

New updates coming:::
The Human Development Foundation (HDF) Lieba-Helena School for Girls in the village of Mirwas, which is close to the city of Mardan, has been completed. It was an existing school that needed a large expansion. We paid for the purchase of extra land and construction of additional classroom, costing MHF a total of $77,099. About 360 students are currently registered – all girls.