The Citizens Foundation
(TCF) came into being in 1995 as a group of six friends,
all entrepreneurs, decided to build five schools in
Karachi for the disadvantaged children of its ubiquitous
slums. What started as a five school project, however,
has evolved into 660 schools in 2010. Today, 92,000
children study in TCF schools, across slums, villages,
valleys and once-forgotten small towns all across
Pakistan.
TCF ranks amongst the top 5 scoring organizations
certified by the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy,
and for years, has been the recipient of one of JCR-VIS
Credit Rating’s highest non-profit organization
governance ratings (GR-8). In less than 15 years,
TCF has evolved into one of the most efficient and
well-organized nonprofit education models in South
Asia.
It also claims another honor, one not shared by many
institutions in Pakistan. TCF is a truly women-strong
organization. Its schools are all led by more than
4,000 incredibly driven women. It's these women who
recruit and train new teachers, hold their own in
the most conservative communities of the country,
and bravely go to teach in TCF’s 660 schools
in some of the most far-flung villages of Pakistan.
Most importantly, in a country where millions of parents
discriminate against their daughters when the time
comes to send them to school, TCF averts the presence
of male teachers as an excuse. Consequently, almost
50 percent of its students are girl.
Dr Marie Lall, senior lecturer at the Institute of
Education, University of London and an associate fellow
on the Asia Programme at Chatham House writes in her
report on the TCF model, “The TCF vision is
deeply rooted in the concept of social justice. The
TCF model has shown that high quality education can
be provided even in the most difficult areas (remote
rural or poor urban) with high levels of student achievement.
It is also clear that the model operates in an efficient
and cost effective way. It is hoped that TCF will
be able to contribute to Pakistan’s education
sector more widely by sharing its journey and the
lessons learnt with education policy makers in the
relevant ministries and agencies.”
TCF’s partner charity in the US is TCF-USA,
a 501 (c)(3), tax-exempt charity that comprises of
volunteers throughout the US. TCF-USA raises funds
to build and support TCF schools, and has so far helped
build over 70 schools in Pakistan. TCF-USA has carved
its own strong position among US charities by winning
the highest nonprofit rating by the leading charity
evaluating agency in America, the Charity Navigator.
Only 20% non-profits evaluated by Charity Navigator
receive the highest rating for 2 years in a row, as
TCF-USA has. TCF-USA was also selected by the US Congress
Commission on 9/11 as the recipient of sales proceeds
from its final report.
