Pakistani teaches underprivileged kids in outdoor school

[Omaha Steve]

Moved from LBN

ISLAMABAD (AP) — On any given day in the Pakistani capital, a group of young people can be seen gathered outdoors in an open field, books open and looking at makeshift blackboards attached to metal pipes in an open-air school.

The school is the product of years of effort by Mohammed Ayub, a Pakistani man of humble origins who turned a promise to his dying father to make sure his siblings got an education into a life dedicated to teaching the less fortunate of this city. For three decades, children who might otherwise have gotten no education sat through his classes.

"I really don't remember how many have passed through (the school). They must be in thousands," Ayub, who is to be honored Monday at a ceremony in the eastern city of Lahore, told The Associated Press at the field where classes are held. "What I know is that I will continue this mission until my last breath."

Ayub, a 57-year-old government worker, came to Islamabad in 1976 from his hometown of Mandi Bahauddin, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) from the capital to find a job so he could take care of his seven siblings after his father died. Back home, he had struggled through a number of menial jobs. In Islamabad, he eventually found a low-level position in the city's emergency services. He worked hard to learn new skills such as first aid and firefighting — he even studied how to defuse bombs — and was eventually promoted to a full-fledged firefighter.

FULL story at link.



In this Thursday, March 12, 2015 photo, Pakistani children from slums study at a school set up by Mohammed Ayub, a 57-year-old government worker, at a park in Islamabad, Pakistan. Ayub has dedicated most of his life to teaching the less fortunate of this city. For three decades, children who might otherwise have gotten no education sat through his classes. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)