Thursday October 8^th marks the fourth anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Pakistan, and sees the construction of the school near completion.

2005's Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Councillor Mohammed Munir, launched an appeal days after the earthquake struck northern parts of Pakistan, claiming around 75,000 lives and leaving millions homeless. The aim was to fund a long-term project rather than provide immediate relief aid. A number of fundraising events, including the Drop in the Ocean music festival, a special locally-produced play staged at the Theatre Royal, and proceeds from the City Council staff Christmas party, raised over £100,000.

Councillor Munir took a self-funded trip to Pakistan to see for himself the extent of the devastation and meet representatives from various agencies in the disaster zone trying to rebuild communities and lives. He and the appeal committee agreed to a partnership with The Citizens Foundation (TCF), a not-for-profit organisation that provides quality education to 80,000 children in 600 schools in Pakistan.

TCF have used the money raised in Nottingham to build and run a primary school in Khanian, a village less than 30 miles from the earthquake's epicentre in the Mansehra district of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. Homes and two schools were reduced to rubble and many people were injured in the village. The new school by TCF will benefit the local community of 4,000 and surrounding villages of up to 5,000 people, providing a high standard of education to 180 pupils. Work to build the school is due to be completed this month. The school, known as The Nottingham Campus, will include a plaque that states: 'This School has been built from donations by the citizens of Nottingham, England. The fund was started by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Cllr M Munir in 2005.'

Even before the earthquake struck, education facilities were poor – with 15% of state schools without proper buildings, 40% without water, 71% without electricity and most suffering from sporadic provision of education due to teacher absences. The literacy rate in Mansehra dropped even further from its 36% mark after the earthquake. The new school includes a 6,500 sq ft building, furniture, equipment including library books and a school van. The money raised will cover this and running costs for three years.

Councillor Munir said: "I am pleased that the efforts and generosity of local people have resulted in a new school for people who survived the terrible earthquake of 2005. This will provide those young survivors of that disaster with a good education which will boost their life chances. Those people who generously contributed to the appeal can be proud that they have helped create such an important lasting legacy."

Lt. Gen. S.P. Shahid, Chief Executive Officer of TCF, said: "The children of Khanian, an area ravaged in the earthquake of October 2005, will always cherish the generosity of people of Nottingham in helping them recreate their dreams through quality education. Acts of such benevolence are greatly helping TCF advance towards its vision to remove barriers of class and privilege to make citizens of Pakistan agents of positive change."