Our History

In January of 2015 when Dr. Shaheen Sayeed visited her ancestral home in the village of Sathrik, Barabanki, UP, 17 miles east of Lucknow, she was heartbroken to see it in ruins and was uncertain as to what she would do with this dilapidated structure. Village children of different ages had followed her and her son Raihan Sayeed inside one of the outer gates of her haveli home. They were curious to know who she was, and she was anxious to know why they were not in school. When she asked why they were not in school, the children just laughed and said they were too poor to attend school as were many other children like them. That moment a thought flashed across her mind, and a humanitarian idea took root: she decided to start a free school for poor children in her ancestral home.

Dr. Shaheen Sayeed asked the children, "If I cleanup and fix this haveli and start a free school, will you all come to study here?" In one voice they all said, "Yes." And so, she gave the orders for renovation and restoration of one section of the haveli. Work started in January 2015, and with the guidance and help of Maulana Mohd. Yunus, who was a tenant in the building, teaching began in February 2015 in four quickly constructed classrooms, accommodating 30 eager and excited students. With Maulana volunteering as a teacher and as the school principal, within 6 months, student count grew to 60. Four teachers were hired and another classroom was constructed, bringing the classroom count to 5. By the end of December 2016, student numbers grew to 125. This required the construction of two additional brick and mortar classrooms and hiring of “five more well-trained class teachers.”, including a higher math instructor.