2025 The military conflict between Pakistan and India in May of this year forced us to cancel the planned FREE EAR CAMP in Skardu.

By October, however, the situation had calmed down enough for us to travel to Pakistan. The focus of this trip was setting up a STEM LAB and conducting a HYGIENE PROGRAM at our long-standing partner, Saya School Maira Akku, on the outskirts of Islamabad.

Furthermore, we were able to advance the project to rebuild houses in Jal Village (Nanga Parbat) and the construction of the Haq Model School in Awan Sharif. The new school building is nearing completion.

2026 We are currently preparing the projects for 2026. From mid-January to mid-February 2026, we will be providing further training for Mohammad Naseem, the acoustician we trained at our partner NARJIS KHATOON SCHOOL FOR DEAF SKARDU in Schleswig-Holstein. The FREE EAR CAMP team has a very high opinion of him, and we expect him to become ‘the leading audiologist in Baltistan‘ in the future.

Our charity member Dr. Jameela Abdul Haq will be able to open the HAQ MODEL SCHOOL AWAN SHARIF in the first quarter. This will give children who have previously been unable to attend school the opportunity to learn to read, write, and maths.

In June, the FREE EAR CAMP 2026 will take place at the NARJIS KHATOON SCHOOL FOR DEAF SKARDU in the Karakoram Mountains. Our team of doctors, audiologists, and special education teachers will examine hearing-impaired children and young people, fit hearing aids, and provide training and further education for the staff of the audiology department we have established, as well as for the teaching staff.

At the same time, our Düsseldorf-based partner We.care e.V. will be in SKARDU providing dental care to the children of the DEAF SCHOOL. We will support We.care e.V. in further developing the concept for a Mobile Dental Clinic, which will bring dental care to remote mountain villages in the future.

The NARJIS KHATOON SCHOOL FOR DEAF SKARDU urgently needs a secure a secure long-term perspective. Thanks to the initiative and exemplary commitment of Aniqa Bano and Afzal Rasool, combined with our support through staff training, the establishment of an audiology center, the FREE EAR CAMPS, and the associated media work, word has spread throughout this remote mountain region that hearing impairment does not have to be seen as an inevitable fate. The resulting increase in demand has prompted us to secure a long-term future for the school. We are currently planning the construction of a new school building, a hostel, and an audiology center. The necessary land has been provided by the GILGIT-BALTISTAN Government on a 50-year lease. Initial discussions regarding funding for the project through ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL/BENGO (consulting and support for the BMZ/German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) took place the week before last.

We are currently planning a Hygiene Teaching Kitchen- and a Sewing Vocational Training Room Program for our partner SAYA SCHOOL MAIRA AKKU. We will apply for the necessary funding in the first quarter of 2026. We hope to begin setting up the two necessary rooms once the funding has been approved.         

In November, a small PHzSHeV team will be at the SAYA SCHOOL MAIRA AKKU to equip the STEM/STEM LAB with additional teaching and learning materials and to train and develop teaching staff.