In the News

On 14th August 2020, Our Founder, Sabina Khatri was announced as the recipient of the highly prestigious civilian award. The Sitara-e-Imtiaz in the category of public service by the state of Pakistan.
Alhamdolillah.

This award makes us humble and leaves us truly grateful of Allah Almighty’s guidance and his blessings on Kiran Foundation’s endeavors and efforts to make our society, believe in compassion and love.

With years of dedication to public service, her work and irrevocable love for the Kiran school system, she has earned this award.

Maa, we pay you tribute for the leader you have been to us, the mother you have been to us and the beacon of change you have been to Lyari.

The Kiran Team

The Kiran Foundation, spearheaded by the dynamic Sabeena Khatri, recipient of the Sitara-e-Imtiaz award, is a non-profit NGO that works for the upliftment of women and children in the area of Lyari.

Having started Kiran Foundation in 2006, the organisation was initially educating 20 children until they moved to Lyari and adopted a government school in 2014, introducing the ethos of educating mothers along with their children.

I think i have a unique and wonderful opportunity to teach children to value their mothers as individual who also have dreams and aspirations like they do.

Sabina Khatri exudes a quiet strength and kindness that draws you in. You would pick her out in a crowd as the person to turn to if things went awry. And you would be right. As the head of the Kiran Foundation in Lyari, she has transformed the lives of the families which come under the umbrella of this unique organization. When I ask her to define the Kiran Foundation she smiles and says, “In the words of the mothers who are with us, they say Kiran Foundation is their home. They say the abbreviation KF should stand for the Kiran Family.” And Sabina herself is the “Maa” of Lyari. That is how all the children address her. Motherhood is, in fact, the transformative superpower that is the basic ethos of Kiran.

An area notorious for gang violence, there is a street whose walls are lined with colorful paintings of flowers and butterflies. Here, the children converse fluently in English, have mashed potatoes for lunch and frolic about in an indoor playground.

This is the Kiran School. Underprivileged toddlers are admitted to the school, which then tries to help them gain scholarships as well as admission to prestigious educational institutions.An area notorious for gang violence, there is a street whose walls are lined with colorful paintings of flowers and butterflies. Here, the children converse fluently in English, have mashed potatoes for lunch and frolic about in an indoor playground.

Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah has said that public-private partnership in the education sector has produced good results and one of its success stories is the children who speak fluent English at the DCTO English medium school in Lyari, which is named after Hindu philanthropist Deepchand T Ojha.

This he said while addressing administration, teaching staff and students of the DCTO English Medium High School, Lyari operating on a public-private partnership basis by the Kiran Foundation. The CM was received by Education Secretary Iqbal Durani, Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) Managing Director Naheed Durrani, Founder and chairperson of Kiran Foundation Sabina Khatri and one of its director Nazir Tunio among others.

Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday paid visit to DCTO Kiran Foundation School located in Lyari’s Moosa Lane area and met the students there, reported Dunya News.

Murad Ali Shah was accompanied by provincial education minister Jam Mehtab Dahar during his visit to the school which is being administered by a social welfare organization. Shah visited different classrooms of the school, met with the teachers and also observed the children’s musical performance.

When one thinks of Lyari, the only images that come to mind are of gang violence, abuse, blood and gore. But Sabina Khatri has been working to redefine that. Lyari and its residents are what bring a smile on Sabina’s face every morning. At a time when local government bodies had given up on this crime-infested community, Sabina stepped in to change things for the better. She opened a school.

“Turn every stone in Pakistan and you find a diamond,” said Sabina Khatri – one of the six central characters of Ho Yaqeen, a project that aims to promote a positive image of Pakistan. She sent chills down my spine.

I listened keenly as she spoke at the premiere of HoYaqeen which was attended by the glitterati of Karachi. Pakistan’s first and only Oscar winner, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy was also present at this event.

What Sabina said stayed with me; working for a news organization has made me feel despondent and desolate. As news of torture, rape, kidnapping, sectarian violence and bomb blasts pours in, I am left wondering where the good news is.

The Kiran Foundation, a non-governmental organization, has transformed the streets of Lyari with a beautiful vibe. Tiles were fixed on the outer walls of around 22 houses situated on the street. The walls were decorated with patterns and bright colors made sure that the area that was once infested with gang wars is now colorful and pretty like it should have been way earlier.

According to the residents, the streets of Lyari were once filled with garbage and sewage but this is a healthy change for their environment.

Sabina Khatri’s emotional talk was the limelight of the event. She narrated different stories of which the most impactful was of the little girl molested by her maternal grandfather on a daily basis. She emphasized on healing yourself which will make you independent, fearless, less judgmental, more open to people and more expressive.

She also focused on achieving proactive empathy. Her life was a bundle of mistakes but what she learnt from them actually mattered to her. Her curiosity made her what she is today. She advised the people listening to hold the hand of a lost soul because it will light a ray of hope which this world severely needs.