British Overseas School awards King Constantine Medal to Laiba Muhammed Ali

Posted: 10 November 2021

The British Overseas School in Karachi, Pakistan awarded A-Level student Laiba Muhammed Ali, the King Constantine Medal for her outstanding work in both youth and environmental service initiatives.

After one of her Geography lessons in the 9th grade Laiba was alarmed to discover that high levels of pollution in Pakistan were significantly contributing to global warming and that the lack of vegetation in the cities was exacerbating the issues and it is predicted that soon much of Karachi could be submerged underwater.

“I started to feel passionately about being involved in and organizing initiatives that I knew were necessary to move closer towards a sustainable Pakistan,” explains Laiba “I believe it is up to the youth to use what they learn in classrooms to take tangible action in the real world.” Inspired to take action, Laiba researched for ways to make a difference came across the Urban Forest project, an organization creating small forests across the city using the “Miyawaki” method. The aim is to use native species and organic biomass which results in fast growing and sustaining natural forests.

She raised awareness around the issue by hosting school assemblies and even invited Shehzad Qureshi, the head representative from the Urban Forest, to explain a solution.

Along with other members of the schools Round Square student committee, she organised a fundraiser to finance a school plantation. The event was a great success and the school managed to raise enough money to plant over a hundred trees! Afterwards, Laiba organized a trip to the Urban Forest so the students could plant the trees themselves.

Along with her work with the Urban Forest, Laiba has also taken on many initiatives for the underprivileged youth in Karachi. A key goal of hers has always been to try and make the children she worked with happier and so, she organized events that gave them a chance to relax and just enjoy. She helped hold carnivals for children from the Behbud Association where there were games, puppet shows and jumping castles. A similar initiative was taken for the students at Ujala, a school for children with mental disorders. Laiba also helped organize a painting drive at Sirat-ul-Jannah, an orphanage, where students painted walls on the roof with all sorts of fun illustrations and drawings. The children staying there were ecstatic to see the colourful change to the roof.

“I love working with young children, especially teaching them, because of how eager and passionate they are to learn,” explains Laiba “Seeing their genuinely curious faces light up every time a new concept is introduced motivates me to approach my own learning with the same enthusiasm… we become friends and it doesn’t feel like I am doing a form of service and I think that human connection that develops is what makes me so passionate about spending time with children.”