03/06/2026
As part of the LINKKS Project (Localised Intervention Network for Karachi Kids), ICAN's team visited Khadija-tul-Kubra Academy for our very first pre-training session — and we chose to begin with the people at the heart of it all; The teachers themselves.
Under the theme of Burnout & Self-Care for Teachers, Ms. Shan E Zainab (core facilitator) and Ms. Komal Zehra (co-facilitator) created a space that felt warmer, safer, and more honest than the usual professional development room.
We opened with a parachute activity; exploring the many roles teachers carry and the quiet, cumulative pressure of keeping all of them in the air at once. Then came burnout sculptures: teachers shaped what exhaustion feels like in their bodies using their hands and simple materials. What emerged wasn't just art, it was release and the stressors that often go unnamed found form.
From there, we moved into naming emotions, then into the deeper self-care question: what do I actually need? Through a "Filling My Emotional Cup" worksheet, teachers reflected on what genuinely restores them — beyond the surface, into real nourishment.
And we closed gently, intentionally; with a love letter to self. Words of acknowledgment, appreciation, and compassion. A reminder that the person behind the role is worthy of care too. 💛
We are so grateful to the teachers of Khadija-tul-Kubra Academy for showing up with such openness and courage.
More to come. Watch this space. 🌱
