Our work

Schools for children. Skills for women.

IRMI Foundation funds two programmes in Pakistan, both run on the ground by our sister organisation IRM Islamabad. Smart Schools bring primary education to villages with no government school nearby. Smart STEP trains women from the poorest households to earn a living.

Smart Schools Smart STEP
  • 117Smart Schools open
  • 4,200+Children enrolled
  • 53%Of pupils are girls
Teacher in a headscarf sitting with young pupils on a classroom floor during a Smart School lesson
Delivered by IRM Islamabad, with more than 32 years of work in Pakistan

Charitable purpose

Two pillars behind everything we fund

Every pound you give goes to one of these two purposes. Each has its own programme, its own team in Pakistan and its own costs, set out below.

Smiling schoolboy holding up his nursery class project folder
Smart Schools

The advancement of education

Resourcing additional Smart Schools so the most impoverished families in Pakistan can access primary education, delivered with IRM Islamabad and with a special effort to include young girls.

See how it works
Young women learning digital skills at computers in a training lab
Smart STEP

The prevention or relief of poverty

Building the enterprise and entrepreneurship skills of young girls and women, with a focus on the e-commerce model, so they can lift themselves out of poverty and become self-sufficient.

See how it works

01 The advancement of education

Smart Schools: a classroom within walking distance

More than 25 million children in Pakistan are out of school. Smart Schools are low-cost primary schools set up inside the communities that need them, in places with no government school within 3 km.

Each school is taught by a woman from the same community. Families trust her, she earns a steady income, and girls make up 53% of the pupils. Schools now run across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad.

Smart School pupils holding their books, standing with their women teachers outside the classroom
Grades 1 to 5 National syllabus, ending in the official Grade 5 board exam

How a Smart School works

  • Built where no school exists

    Each school opens in a remote area more than 3 km from the nearest government school.

  • One teacher, many grades

    About 30 out-of-school children learn together in a multi-grade classroom.

  • The national syllabus

    Pupils prepare for the Grade 5 board exam, then move on to mainstream schools.

  • Open to every child

    Boys and girls enrol on equal terms, including children with physical disabilities.

  • Character, not just grades

    Teachers make room for ethics, social skills and good behaviour alongside lessons.

  • Supplies covered

    IRM provides uniforms, stationery, teacher training and per diem allowances.

Beyond the classroom

A school that also looks after health, families and teachers

Health

Free medical check-ups

Volunteer doctors run health camps inside the schools, so problems are caught early in children who would otherwise go unseen.

Technology

Tablet-based learning

Tablets in class support phonics and the alphabet, moral storytelling and interactive learning games.

Families

Parent Education Committees

Regular meetings with parents review progress and behaviour, and feed community concerns back into how each school runs.

Teachers

Ongoing teacher training

Every teacher starts with initial training, then keeps building subject knowledge, classroom management and multi-grade teaching skills.

Education is not just a right; it is the most powerful form of social protection.

Iram AneesCountry Manager, IRM Smart Schools

02 The prevention or relief of poverty

Smart STEP: skills that turn into an income

Smart STEP, the Social Transformation and Empowerment Programme, trains women from urban slums and poor rural communities to earn a living and support their families with dignity.

It is built for the women most often left out:

  • Widows with dependent children
  • Orphans
  • Destitute women
  • Women with disabilities
  • Women living in extreme poverty
Smart STEP trainees in headscarves working together at computers during a class
2 months Full training, with all materials and equipment included

Where it runs

Started in Rawalpindi. Now in five regions.

Smart STEP launched at IRM Tech in Rawalpindi and has grown into communities across Pakistan.

  • Balochistan
  • Gilgit-Baltistan
  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Punjab
  • Sindh
Women trainees at computers in the IRM Tech training lab
Trainee taking notes beside a computer during a Smart STEP lesson
Smart STEP trainee typing at a computer workstation

What women learn

  1. 1

    E-commerce and marketing

    Selling products online and reaching customers beyond the neighbourhood.

  2. 2

    Entrepreneurship and vocational skills

    Practical skills, and how to turn them into a small business.

  3. 3

    Artificial intelligence

    Using AI tools in everyday work and business.

  4. 4

    Financial literacy

    Managing money, earnings and household budgets.

  5. 5

    Life skills

    The confidence to take part, decide and lead.