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.

In January of 2017, Dr. Shaheen Sayeed's friend, Mrs. Bharti Deveshwar, generously donated 4 new computers to the school. By July 2017, a brand new Computer Lab was constructed with 50 percent monetary support coming from Dr. Sayeed and the remaining 50 percent made possible by funds collected at a fundraiser organized by Dr. Sayeed's Progressive group of friends in Chicago. By August 2017 the computer lab (the only one in the village) was up and running with a part-time trained computer instructor, giving computer lessons to all students from class 1 to class 6.

With the steady increase in enrollment, rising to 175 in July of 2017, an additional brick and mortar classroom was constructed, bringing the total number of classrooms to 9. At the end of December 2017, classes held ranged from pre-nursery, nursery, KG, and from grades 1 through 6; the school had 9 classrooms, 9 class teachers, one higher math instructor, and one computer instructor, and one full time Ayah (nursemaid).

Current Status : January 31, 2018. Papers have been filed to get Manyata (Accreditation/Recognition) for the school. Principal Maulana Yunus is hopeful Manyata will be awarded by February 2018.

2018

• Manyata (Accreditation) for Class 5 granted end of February 2018.
• Computer Lab fully operational. Computer training in place for all classes.
• Construction of Class 6 completed
• Physical Training (PT) class added to Daily Schedule of all classes.

2019/2020

• Construction of Class 7 and Class 8 completed in October 2019.
• Student enrollment increased to 300.
• 4 additional teachers hired. One for class 7, one for class 8, one Higher Math instructor, and one fulltime Computer Instructor.
• School's Annual School Day (Varshik Utsav), celebrated on January, 5, 2020, was a thundering success. More than a 1000 spectators, in addition to the chief guests, enjoyed the stage performances.
• Manyata application for class 8 in the preparation stage.

A huge Thank You is owed to all participants who helped to promote and advance the school's vision, and its future growth and success.

To : Our hard-working school principal, dedicated teachers, Ayahs, cleaning team, construction workers, overseers, carpenters, website designers, and above all, our generous friends, donors, and supporters, both in India and in the US, Please accept our Gratitude and thanks for your Support.

Mission

Our school's mission is to teach children the value of education; to train them to become self-reliant, self-confident, and responsible; to love and respect all, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, age, or gender; to be helpful, truthful, honest, ethical, and moral; and above all to be active and good citizens of our democratic nation.

Future Plans : If and when extra funds become available, Dr. Sayeed plans to grow the school past high school to intercollege. So far Dr. Sayeed has funded the school entirely by herself, except for some funds received through a fundraiser for the construction of the computer lab and some much needed funds received from her businessman husband Asif Sayeed.

School is registered as a charitable institution under the "Warsi Educational and Welfare Society." If concerned people wish to donate, donations made to the school will be tax-free in India. In the US, application will be filed shortly to obtain a tax exempt 501 c3 status.