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https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/sitara_girls_high_school
“Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like the one who did it.”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
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This campaign will collect all funds raised by April 30, 2018 at 8:00 PM EDT
BUILDING THEIR FUTURE
Since 2011, Sitara School and Teachers' Institute has provided free and low cost education to needy children in Chatha Bakhtawar, Pakistan. In 2015, your donations helped us relocate to a wonderful new facility. In 2016 you helped us continue to grow to a student enrollment of 215. Now we have 230 enrolled and almost 30 more on a waiting list. The goal of our 2017 Ramadan campaign is to start a Girls’High School in our town. Why? Because there isn't one. When these bright and beautiful young ladies finish eighth class, their formal education will end, unless you help!
Eighth grade girls learning about the brain
FULFILLING THE NEED
Alhamdulilah, those who have supported us over the years have seen our students grow from primary school all the way through eighth grade. Our boys leave us after fifth grade and have continued their education at the local government school or other low cost private schools. They are well on their way to success, Allahu Akbar! But what about our girls? They continue with us until eighth class. Then what? There is no government secondary school for girls in our town. The lucky few will travel to a neighboring town by motor bike or public transportation, but most cannot afford that luxury. They are fated to stay home, work the fields, raise their siblings and help with the cooking and housework. They’ll remain sheltered at home until marriage before they reach their twenties. Then they’ll start having kids of their own and the cycle of poverty and limited opportunity will continue.
Not on our watch. We provided an elementary school and they learned. They came from homes where parents had no more than a fifth grade education. Our students succeeded on their fifth grade Ministry exams and now a class of ten girls will pass their eighth grade exams in 2018, Inshallah. We have one ninth grade girl this year, studying under the guidance of her caring teachers. We need classrooms for the next bunch, and the ones after that.
OUR PROJECT
If you build those rooms, our girls will have a chance to remain in school. We plan to build three rooms this summer, upstairs on our current rooftop. One of them will be a science lab, Inshallah. We need your help. A simple room, four walls and a roof with a cement floor, costs about $2500 to build. We don’t own the property and our rent will go up as rooms are added, but it’s worth it to see these girls be the first in their families to graduate.
Expanding their Horizons
In May, we took the 5th through 9th grade student on a field trip to Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad. AIOU is a virtual university serving the higher educational needs of millions of students in far flung areas of the country as well as right here in the capital. Some of our staff members have completed their M.Ed degrees there. Our students visited their first real library where they sat and read, explored the stacks and also learned how to use the digital card catalog. There are no public libraries in Islamabad but AIOU has promised us that they'll establish a kids' corner in time for our next visit, Inshallah.
We also visited the state of the art TV studio where online classes are filmed and the huge printing press where 10,000 books are produced in just over three hours. I won't forget shining eyes and determined faces of my students as they glimpsed their possible futures on that campus.
If we build those classrooms, they'll have a chance to get there.
School-Wide Improvements this Year
The video and pictures don't do justice to the vibrancy and joy of Sitara. Right now our campus consists of thirteen rooms chock full of eager students. I love to hear their recitations in the morning. We began a Quranic Arabic program this year, serving students from first to eighth grade, taught by a qualified alima. We also invested in Jolly Phonics, a beginning English program for our preschoolers and primary students. New books by Afaq Publishers are another step up for us. These books integrate Islam across the curriculum. Through staff training teachers learn to infuse their lessons with tarbiyah. We’ve also invested in some highly qualified new staff members and raised the salaries of the ones we have to a more livable wage. We use technology: eight desktops, two laptops and a multi- media projector, to the fullest, but new equipment is needed to enhance our computer literacy program. All of this costs money, and that’s where you come in.
The Costs
The donation amounts listed are only suggestions of what we need. Alhamdulilah, a dollar goes a long way in Pakistan. $10-20 buys books, supplies and uniforms, including shoes,winter hats and sweaters. $40-50 pays for a month’s worth of education per student, including a share in the rent and utilities. $100 pays a teacher’s salary for a month, including her training at Sitara Teachers’ Institute.$400-500 covers a year’s worth of student fees and buys furniture, computers and lab equipment. $1000 pays a teacher’s annual salary including training costs, and $2500 will build an entire room, Inshallah. There are no limits on what your sadaqa jariyah can do with Allah's blessings!
Building three rooms will take time and money, no doubt. But every bit of support you can give us counts toward the final outcome. Please give generously, but not only from your pockets. Take some time to share our campaign like with all your family and friends, in person and on social media. May Allah bless you and keep you this Ramadan and always. May He reward you here and Hereafter. Jazak Allahu khairun
SITARA HELPER
Buy a textbook or uniform for one of our deserving students. May Allah reward you here and Hereafter.
15 claimed
SITARA DONOR
Your contribution will buy a student school supplies and books for an entire school year. May Allah reward you here and Hereafter.
6 claimed
SITARA SUPPORTER
Just $40 pays a student's tuition, and covers part of the cost of running our school for one month! May Allah reward you here and Hereafter.
11 claimed
FACILITATOR
Your donation will buy us bricks, mortar and lumber to start our classrooms. May Allah build for you in Jannah! Ameen.
13 claimed
CONTRIBUTOR
Your donation will help furnish our new High School rooms and purchase lab equipment. May Allah furnish your palace in Jannah! Ameen.
3 claimed
FRIEND OF SITARA
You are a personal education sponsor for one of our deserving students, taking care of all his or her educational expenses and a share of our operating costs for a full year. Please accept a complimentary digital copy of Eye of the Heart, Sommieh Flower's spiritual memoir. As you have sheltered us, may Allah (SWT) shelter you under His Arsh. Ameen.
1 claimed
BUILDER
Because of you, there is hope of a High School with brand new rooms and a bright future or our girls! Please choose between a digital or autographed paperback copy of Eye of the Heart. May Allah add many rooms to your palace in Paradise. Ameen.
2 claimed
MASTER BUILDER
Your amazing donation will build us a brand new room so that we can open Sitara Girls' High School. The possibilities are limitless from here! Please accept an autographed copy of Eye of the Heart and may Allah grant you the palace of your dreams and more in Jannah!
0 claimed
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https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/sitara_girls_high_school
“Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like the one who did it.”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
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Would You Help Them for a Dollar?
Dear Friends,
Only three days left for our LG campaign. You can still earn some Ramadan blessings and help us reach our goal. At 90k, we are 90% there! We are grateful for all you've done, but we need just a bit more help this time. If you could give us just $5-10 (more or less) we would be at 100K in no time. So do it now, if you possibly can, and spread the word. Do it for the kids! Launchgood.com/sitaraturns10. Thank you!
Sommieh Flower
Director, Sitara Trust
Sitara Needs YOU!
Dear LG donors,
Assalamu alaykum! Alhamdulilah, this week marked the end of our most unusual school year. in spite of Covid lockdowns and start ups, the 300 children of Sitara were able to take their final exams and graduate. Nobody knows what the next year will hold, but we intend to do our best to educate and support these needy children. You have helped us before and I'm sure you'd do more if you could. Sharing our links is one way to continue helping so share them far and wide. We are reaching the last ten days of Ramadan, when your charity can be of unlimited value, so please keep Sitara in your donation plans once again and urge your friends and family to contribute too. Our recent video, https://youtu.be/gG3rvgnWsFc is the story of one boy told through the eyes of another. It captures the true essence of our mission, Ensuring the Right to an Education for All.
Jazak Allahu khairun for all of your support. May Allah accept all our deeds this Ramadan and keep our intentions pure. All the best, Sommieh Flower
Launchgood.com/sitaraturns10.
Last Ten Days!
May Allah (SWT) reward you abundantly,
Sommieh Flower
Thirty Days- Thirty Thousand: WE CAN DO IT!
May 7, 2019
Dear Sitara Supporters,
Ramadan Kareem. First, I’d like to thank you for supporting Sitara in the past year. If this is the first thank you are receiving from me, I’m truly sorry. Somewhere along the line, Launchgood notices started coming to my promotional mail, instead of my primary inbox. I just discovered the issue today! For this reason, I may have missed the chance to say thank you. We appreciate you more than you know.
Sitara has grown by leaps and bounds this past year. We have become an official registered trust in Pakistan and have therefore changed our name to Sitara Trust. After years of successful growth as Sitara School, we have decided to expand our mission to encompass community development. In addition to our elementary, girls’ high school and teacher training program, we now have a Mother Child Center, Craft Center and Sitara Farms and Orchards.
You can read all about these new programs on this year’s Fund-Raising campaign, hosted once again by Launchgood. Please follow the special link below to get an update on all our new projects. The work is going very well, Alhamdulilah, but we need your support more than ever. The ultimate goal of community development is self-sustainability for families and the community as a whole. But it takes hard work, education and funding to get there and that’s where you come in.
Please go to our link at https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/sitara_trust#!/. Donate what you can and then share the link with all your contacts on social media platforms. Sharing the link is very important because it brings new people to the campaign. So sharing is as important a contributing money. With the right intention, everyone can do something.
I am in the process of changing all Sitara gmail and FB contacts to what’s app. Please send your what’s app # with your name and location to +631-792-3301 to complete this important process.
Jazak Allahu khairun for being part of the Sitara family and have a blessed Ramadan!
Best regards,
Sommieh Flower for Sitara Trust
Its Giving Tuesday!
Dear Sitara Friends and Family,
Assalamu alaykum! It's Giving Tuesday on Launchgood and wwe're in it to win it! There are prizes totaling $100,000 for the projects that get the most money and /or the most donors. You can help us win by going to our brand new link:
https://www.launchgood.com/project/sitara_school_and_teachers_institute_4#!/
You'll see lots of good stuff about our new projects. Make a donation of any amount and SHARE THE LINK WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW. But please, do it now, because the 24 hour period has already started (12:00 AM PST from Nov 27-28).
SO DON"T DELAY! DO IT TODAY! Jazak Allahu khairun.
Sommieh Flower
Project Director
Sitara Trust Inaugurates New Projects
O
Dear Donors,
Assalamu alaykum!
While I was enjoying my summer in North America, our Captain Tariq Khan, our principals and several other people were hard at work on our new projects. So much has happened in such a short time! For one thing, Sitara is now a registered Trust under the Ministry of Philanthropy in Islamabad capital territory. This status will help us avoid business taxes and streamline the donation process for local supporters.
On Monday, September 24, we held an Inauguration Ceremony for two new facilities. One is the SMCC, Sitara Mother Child Center and the other is the Sitara Craft Center, a vocational training school. We have begun classes in both new spaces this week. The mothers attending are interested in learning sewing, Qur'an and English. They get to have an hour or two away from their children, who can play in our wonderful playroom full of almost new toys. The objective of the SMCC is to raise the self esteem of these ladies and help them attain some skills. At the same time, their babies will get an early start to their education.
The SCC (Sitara Craft Center) is starting with two classes: Steel Fabrication and Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. Although the students are young (under 15 years old,) they are very eager to learn these new, hands on skills. Future courses will include CAD/CAM and jewelry making, but that is just the start. The idea is to give our former students earning skills so that they can pay their own way toward higher education, Inshallah.
The new projects were very well received by our guests, including many well known personalities from Islamabad. After a delicious High Tea, we gave guided tours of the facilities for those who were interested. We have also formed a what's app thread to send out weekly pictures of our students. If you are interested, please let me know by sending a what's app to me at +1631792-3301. More updates will follow, Inshallah. Please share this update far and wide with family and friends.
FYI, our Launchgood campaign is perpetually open. Please go to launchgood.com/starstudents to make a contribution and tell your friends as well.
Allah bless you,
Sommieh Flower
We've Gone Live!
Dear Fabulous Donors,
Ramadan Kareem. I wanted you to be the first to know......Sitara's 2018 Ramadan Campaign is live! Please support us with a one click donation and share our link with all your friends: launchgood.com/starstudents
Sneak Preview: Upcoming Campaign!
Assalamu alaykum Sitara Donors!
Ramadan is fast approaching and with it, a brand new Sitara Fund Raising Campaign on Launchgood. I thought our most loyal donors should be the first to know about the new campaign. After all, our previous campaigns were a success because of you!
We have so much to be grateful for! The high school classrooms, including the lab have been up and running for about six months now. Four new rooms allowed us to go back to full day pre school and KG instead of the half day program we had last year. Some of our classes have reached capacity, including class four, which currently has 27 students!
The biggest piece of news is that we started the Tarbiyah Project this year. For those of you with ties to Islamic education in the U.S, this is the renowned project of Br. Dawud Tauhidi (r). I had the privilege of working Br. Dawud for ten years at Crescent International Academy, and now we have brought the Tarbiyah Project to Pakistan, where it is a natural fit. The teachers and students love the integration of Islamic values and concepts into all the subject areas. Right now, we are delving deeply into the theme of Noble Character, studying the life of the Prophet (s.) and working on how we can improve ourselves, especially during Ramadan.
There are so many great things happening at Sitara and you are a part of it all! Our new campaign will launch as soon as Ramadan begins, so keep your eyes open and don’t forget to share our video and all our info with your friends. Jazak Allahu khairun!
Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family,
Sommieh Flower
We couldn't have done it without you!
Dear Donors,
Greetings and Salams. After a lovely few months with family and friends I'm back in Pak! Because of your generous donations, I returned laden with gifts, including four brand new tablets and many new library books. The tablets are a wonderful addition to our curriculum because they put technology right into the students' hands. These students do not usually have access to technology at home. At school they learn all the basics and beyond! Even our teachers learn to use laptops, desktops and tablets here at school. We run training courses for them at the start of the new school year.
Alhamdulilah, (All praise is to Allah) our four new classrooms are almost done. The painter is hard at work with the electrician soon to follow. We should be able to move the students in just a few weeks. We are planning a small lab in one of the rooms to conduct science experiments. The others will be high school and middle school rooms. Once we free up the space downstairs we'll add a third pre school classroom and enroll some of the students on our waiting list. Things are looking good! The fund-raising campaign for the high school is still open so please forward the link to your friends and family. Many thanks and God bless! Sommieh Flower, director 
Giving is better together! Your share could raise over 0.
https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/sitara_girls_high_school
“Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like the one who did it.”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
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Giving is better together! Your share could raise over 0.
https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/sitara_girls_high_school
“Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like the one who did it.”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ