DIL (Developments in Literacy)

Our Mission
Developments in Literacy (DIL) is dedicated to providing quality education to disadvantaged children, especially girls, by establishing and operating schools in the underdeveloped regions of Pakistan, with a strong focus on gender equality and community participation.

Our Vision

No child in Pakistan, no matter how poor or underprivileged, should be denied access to quality education. All children should have equal opportunity to reach their full potential and contribute toward the socio-economic betterment of their communities.

How We Started

In 1997, Pakistani expatriates from Southern California launched DIL to give back to their country of origin. Acting on the advice of Pakistan’s foremost social thinkers, we undertook the task of trying to improve the state of education in Pakistan’s, primarily in the underdeveloped, rural areas.

DIL grew over the years and quickly spread by opening chapters in New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Houston, San Diego; Toronto and Ottawa, Canada; Singapore and the United Kingdom. Today DIL is operating 150 schools in all four provinces of Pakistan and educating over 13,000 students.

What We Do

DIL establishes, adopts and operates primary and secondary schools in Pakistan for underprivileged children, particularly girls. DIL manages 149 schools in partnerships with seven non-governmental and non-profit organizations, and DIL directly operates 23 schools.

DIL is committed to raising the standard of education in all of its schools by:

• Providing ongoing teacher training.


• Improving school construction and environment.


• Establishing libraries and computer labs.


• Building the capacity of the field staff.
  

A system of credible monitoring and complete financial transparency has been maintained since the inception of DIL. Projects are monitored by experienced DIL staff who visit the project sites on a regular basis to gauge the progress of the schools. These monitoring efforts are particularly critical for identifying and meeting the needs of the teachers for ongoing teacher training. In addition, the partner organizations are required to monitor and reports on the progress of each school on a monthly basis.

All DIL accounts are audited annually by reputable accounting firms both in the United States and Pakistan.