Baleygon Village School
Building the foundations for education
The building and ongoing support of the Baleygon Village School, in the remote mountains of Northern Pakistan, has been our biggest and most challenging project to date, spanning over 10 years.
With government funding often not forthcoming, hamlets, villages and entire regions can have little in the way of educational facilities, denying children of even a basic level of tuition.
This was the case in the isolated Hushe Valley village of Baleygon, where stood a dilapidated two-roomed building with 10 broken desks and around 100 students (most of whom had to sit on a hard concrete floor even in mid-winter to learn), one teacher in charge of all students from 4 to14-year-olds, and very little else in the way of equipment.
Recognising the needs of the village and the students, the Wild Frontiers Foundation’s first major project was initiated in 2010.
With ambitious plans, requiring substantial funds, Wild Frontiers embarked on its first charity trek with founder, Jonny Bealby, and a hardy group of eight trekking up to the ‘Throne Room of the Mountain Gods’ for a view of the second highest and most dangerous mountain on earth, K2.
This challenge, fittingly in the same region as the Hushe Valley, raised £20,000 and work began.
With continued funding and invaluable support from Wild Frontiers clients, work continued with the building of a new toilet block, which was essential in giving the girls of the village the equal opportunity to attend school, paying teachers’ wages and providing educational materials.
However, without the ability to closely and continuously monitor the management of the school from the UK, it became increasingly difficult to ensure the quality of the student’s education, attendance and upkeep.
In 2019 we began talks with the Felix Foundation Baltistan, a locally based non-profit organisation working for education and development of the people of the Hushe Valley.
With success in running other schools in the valley, the Wild Frontiers Foundation’s board of trustees made the decision to transfer the management of the school to the Felix Foundation.
With the blessing of the community, the school management was officially transferred in February 2020.
As guardians of the school, the Wild Frontiers Foundation has committed to funding the school until 2025. This funding will pay teachers’ wages, provide teaching aids and educational materials, along with general maintenance and upkeep.
Together the Wild Frontiers Foundation and Felix Foundation Baltistan will help ensure the future education of the children of Baleygon.
Our clients travelling his region of Northern Pakistan, have the opportunity to visit the school to meet the students and teachers.
See and hear more from Wild Frontiers founder, Jonny Bealby, in the following video during his visit the school in June 2022.
Updates on the progress and development of the school can be found in our 2023 Annual Report