Spanish filmmakers shot the documentary Flying Hands in Skardu in 2013, which was showcased at the Bilbao Mendi Film Festival in early December. The documentary tells the story of the couple Afzal Rasool and Aniqa Bano, whose first child, daughter Narjis Khatoon, was born with a hearing impairment. Inspired by this experience, the couple underwent intensive training and developed an unparalleled initiative: founding the Narjis Khatoon School for Deaf (NKSD), a school for hearing-impaired children in the mountainous region of Baltistan. PAKISTAN-Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe e.V. (PHzSHeV) seized the opportunity that both partners were invited to the film festival to organize training and further education for them in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Following a lecture event in Bordesholm— attended by the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Her Excellency Ms. Saqlain Syedah—the couple visited an ENT practice in Flensburg, two audiologies in Bordesholm and Flensburg, the State Center for Hearing and Communication (LFZ H&K), and the Cochlear Implant Center (CIC) in Schleswig. Members of the PHzSHeV team, who have been working with the Narjis Khatoon School for Deaf for several years and know the school personally, prepared programs at their institutions to share knowledge, skills, and insights with Aniqa and Afzal. These efforts aim to help the couple further develop their work for hearing-impaired children in Baltistan.

Welcome to HE Ms Saqlain Syedah

Presentation PHzSHeV Projects

Lecture Aniqa Bano

M. Eggers Audiology

ENT Clinic Dr. Henning Rasche

LFZ H & K

Amid the intensive professional training, there was still time to introduce the couple from the Karakoram mountains to the charm of a coastal region, allowing them to experience the history, culture, and lifestyle of Schleswig-Holstein.

Highlights included a look at the German Navy Sailing Ship Gorch Fock, a tradi- tional kale dinner at the CIC, and an outing to a Christmas market.

In June 2025, PHzSHeV plans to return to Pakistan with a large team from Schleswig- Holstein to conduct the second FREE EAR CAMP. During this camp, children will be examined, hearing aids fitted, and NKSD staff further trained.
Based on the experience so far, the organization is optimistic that their partners in Skardu will be able to work independently within one to two years, in line with their motto, Helping Others to Help Themselves.