Those who survived had to struggle to rebuild their shattered lives and homes. Thousands of miles away, here in Peterborough, this tragic event inspired residents to donate more than £30,000, which was used to rebuild a school. Features writer Hannah Gray finds out just what a difference that money has made.

IN a country such as Pakistan, a good school has a huge knock-on cultural effect, and the school that Peterborough residents helped to build, CBS Mungun, is no exception.

The school, in Pakistan's Kaghan Valley, was opened in November 2006 and currently has 33 boys and 34 girls on its roll.

From the moment it was opened, it was a ground-breaking institution, as it was the first time girls in this very conservative area had been educated.

But today it is not just the girls who are learning things for the first time.

There is some evidence that, because of the school, child marriages are reducing. This practice can see girls as young as 10 being married off, but Rokunuz Zaman, programme coordinator for Learning For Life, the charity which oversees the school, says parents are becoming more aware of why this is wrong.

Rokunuz said: "Because the parents are getting the benefit of the education, they are also having social awareness through the project, that the government rules are that girls should not get married until 18."

Rokunuz went to Pakistan in July this year, but because of the difficult political situation in the country, was not able to visit CBS Mungun.

Instead, staff from the school went to meet him, and he said there was good news, although still room for improvement.

"The school is running very very well," Rokunuz said. "But there were two issues they raised to me. One was that the social and cultural situation in Pakistan is such that girls who are completing Year 5 can't go to high school because there is no high school near the village.

"The staff suggested that if we supplied support for the salary of a teacher, then the girls could continue Year 6 or 7 there.

"The other issue is that they have realised that a mother and child health project would be very helpful for them, as every year mothers and children die."

This latter issue is already being taken in hand. During his visit, Rokunuz had a meeting with representatives from the Pakistani health department and they were very positive about such a project.

Back in the UK, he has put together a proposal for one part-time doctor, one midwife and one community health worker. Some of these would be recruited locally and given thorough training.

While there are obviously ways in which the school could be improved, Rokunuz stressed that it has made a huge difference to children and adults in the region.

"This is something new for them and it was completely unexpected for them. The parents who were not interested in sending their children are now sending their children. The children are getting health education so that when they go home they're sharing this message with other people," he said.

The school is now registered with the Pakistani Government and should therefore receive free books.

Children attending CBS Mungun also get a certificate when they leave, which they can take with them when they go to other schools.

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