The 141 Schools for Peace was a 2015 social campaign, founded by a Canadian based Pakistani couple, Zaki Patel and Syeda Zaki, and was accomplished by The Citizens Foundation. The aim was to dedicate one school each to the victims of 2014 Peshawar school massacre, and was achieved by their tenth anniversary in 2024.
On 16 December 2014, six gunmen attacked inside the Army Public School, Peshawar, killing 132 children and 9 school staff members, making it one of the world's deadliest school massacres. The children were forced to see their teachers dying, including their principal, Tahira Qazi. Pakistan Army's Special Service Group (SSG) launched a quick rescue operation and killed the terrorists. They rescued an estimated 960 people, though 139 were injured.[1][2]
The school reopened on 12 January 2015 under strict security. One week was dedicated to the prayers and remembrence of the victims, and the students and staff attended psychological counselling sessions, though they had shown high spirits.[3][4]
Founders
"Storytelling is going to be a really important part of this where we can perpetuate positivity out of something quite horrific".
Zaki Patel, a computer science graduate from McGill University, with his wife, Syeda Zaki, a social entrepreneur, started a web campaign to collect the funds to build the schools. The couple is from Karachi, Pakistan, but resides and works in Canada. The idea that clicked him was from the social media response, that the best reply for the terrorism is to build the schools. So, he founded 141schools.org and used the hashtag #141SchoolsforPeace for marketing on Twitter. He hoped that 141 people would join him, though a greater number of people signed up from many countries, including Pakistan, the U.S., India, etc. Reportedly, they had received 15,000 pledges within just three days.[6][5][7]
Timeline
"Only education has the power to enlighten minds, instill citizenship and unleash the potential of every Pakistani".
~ Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad, CEO The Citizens Foundation[6]
The mission was magnified after a partnership with The Citizens Foundation (TCF), an educational nonprofit organization that builds schools for underprivileged children in Pakistan. TCF planned the locations across Pakistan depending upon the availability of students, teachers, and the land, and the budgetary cost was estimated to be Rs.2.07 crore.[a][5][7] Zaki Patel had pitched this idea to TCF in early January 2015, so they took over the management and planning. TCF spokesperson Ayesha Khatib told that each unit would take six months to erect the building, and one year to one-and-a-half to make it fully functional. Their initial goal was to complete the mission by three years.[6][9]
Ali Zafar also committed to donating all proceeds from the song "Urain Ge" to the cause. Their collective aim was to build 141 schools and dedicate each school to a victim of the Peshawar attack.[10] Although, the number of deaths were increased, the campaign remained to 141.[11] Reportedly, 23 schools were constructed by the first anniversary in December 2015,[12] and 40 schools by the second one in 2016.[13] By the tenth anniversary in 2024, TCF announced that the mission to establish 141 school units had been completed.[14]
Furthermore, by the first anniversary of the attack, then Prime Minister of PakistanNawaz Sharif approved to rename 122 schools and colleges to the names of the victims, in their honour.[15]
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