The Garage School

In a posh Minerva Court Apartment Compound, in the elite Clifton, Karachi area, what was once intended to be a parking space for an automobile is now a full-fledged learning, teaching and caring centre. The garage was transformed into its existing learning and teaching in November 1999. It all began when a young girl Somia, eager to learn and change her destiny was denied admission in a vocational school just because she was not fortunate enough to be literate. Shabina Mustafa felt a strong desire to help this little girl, and hence the school in the garage was born. Right away, her small, empty garage was transformed into a learning centre. Fortunately for Mrs. Mustafa, she found herself great support. In fact, on the first day of school, there were over a dozen young and eager learners, joyfully clearing up the garage to set it up as a learning room. Most of them came from homes of domestic help. The Garage School while being run at the garage, had no space for Shabina to promote the students. The students were moving in circles, from inside to outside the garage as they moved up the grades. In 2002, with the generosity of Mr. Abbas Vawda many of The Garage School’s students were sponsored to other mainstream schools. With more children pouring in, it was imperative for The Garage School moved to larger premises. Due to the pressure from the families, Shabina had no choice but to rent a three storeyed commercial building in 2006 in Neelam Colony to remain in close proximity to the area where these children resided. 2015 marked the opening of a teacher’s training institute under the umbrella of Safi Benevolent Trust named Safi Teacher’s Training Centre. Due to lack of space, another mezzanine floor close to the existing building was rented to accommodate many eager students who came for admissions to The Garage School. And so TGS 3 (elementary section) was opened in 2016.