The Rehan School Model: Students as Partners in Education and Enterprise
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October 14, 2025An American Who Moved To Pakistan — To Give, Not To Take
Many Pakistanis dream of moving abroad.
We imagine a better life — cleaner streets, higher salaries, working systems.
But once in a while, a story emerges that reminds us that greatness does not come from where you go,
but from what you give.
This is the extraordinary story of Richard Geary, an American who, instead of leaving his country for a comfortable life elsewhere, chose to move to Pakistan with his wife Heidi and their children.
Not to seek money, fame, or luxury — but to dedicate his time, heart, and soul to the deaf children of Pakistan.
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🌿 How It All Began
In the late 1980s, Richard and Heidi visited Pakistan for the first time. What they saw shook them deeply.
They met children who were deaf — beautiful, bright, full of potential — yet completely cut off from the world.
These children had no access to education.
There were no schools for them, no trained teachers, and no sign language system in the local context.
Many parents, out of frustration and ignorance, kept their deaf children hidden at home.
Richard and Heidi understood their pain in the most personal way — because they themselves were parents of a deaf child.
They knew the importance of early language, of communication, of belonging.
And when they saw that thousands of children in Pakistan lived without those opportunities, their hearts could not turn away.
So instead of returning home to the United States, they made a decision that would change thousands of lives:
They decided to make Pakistan their home.
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🏫 Building Hope from Scratch — The Birth of FESF
In 1989, they founded the Family Educational Services Foundation (FESF) in Karachi.
Their mission was simple yet revolutionary: to make education and communication accessible to every deaf child in Pakistan, especially those from poor families.
At that time, very few people even believed deaf children could learn.
But the Gearys did.
And they proved it.
In 1995, they launched the first Deaf Reach School — one small classroom, with a few teachers and students, and a dream bigger than any budget.
They didn’t just start a school. They started a movement.
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🌍 Deaf Reach: From One School to a National Movement
Under Richard’s leadership, Deaf Reach has now grown into a network of seven major campuses across Pakistan — including Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Rashidabad, Lahore, and Jhelum.
Each Deaf Reach campus is more than a school.
It’s a complete ecosystem where deaf children learn, play, grow, and find confidence to live independently.
Here’s what they built over the past three decades:
Education for the Deaf (KG to College)
Thousands of deaf children, many from the poorest families, now receive high-quality academic education in sign language — completely free or at highly subsidized cost.
Vocational and Skills Training
At the age of 14–18, students learn digital design, tailoring, culinary skills, IT, handicrafts, and photography — so that they can earn a living and support their families with dignity.
Teacher Training
Deaf Reach trains hundreds of teachers every year — equipping them to teach deaf students using Pakistan Sign Language (PSL).
Pakistan Sign Language (PSL) Development
Perhaps their greatest contribution: Richard’s team created the Pakistan Sign Language Dictionary — a complete visual language resource with over 7,000 words and signs, all available online for free.
This project connected deaf Pakistanis across provinces and became a national communication bridge.
Digital and Mobile Learning Tools
Long before “EdTech” became popular, Deaf Reach was already producing e-learning videos, mobile lessons, and storybooks in sign language, allowing deaf students to learn from home — especially during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Job Placement and Career Counseling
Graduates from Deaf Reach are working in leading companies like KFC, Unilever, Habib Bank, and other organizations that now proudly hire deaf employees.
This was unthinkable 20 years ago — but Richard’s quiet revolution made it possible.
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💚 A Life of Love, Not Luxury
For over 30 years, Richard and Heidi have lived among us —
celebrating our Eid, eating our food, speaking our languages, and calling Pakistan their true home.
They raised their children here.
They didn’t build mansions or chase fame.
They built futures — for others.
In 2020, the Government of Pakistan awarded Richard Geary the Sitara-e-Khidmat, one of the nation’s highest civil honors,
for his lifetime of service and love for Pakistan’s deaf community.
He could have lived a comfortable, quiet life in America.
But instead, he chose Karachi’s crowded streets, the noise of construction, the struggle for funds — all for a vision larger than himself.
He didn’t just build schools; he built hope.
He didn’t just teach sign language; he taught us the language of compassion.
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🌟 A Role Model for Rehan School Students
At Rehan School, our mission is to create 1,000 leaders who will build $1 million startups, impact 1 million people each, and lift Pakistan’s per capita income to $100,000.
In our books, Richard Geary is a “DeafWala” — a hero of his field.
He took one national problem — the neglect of Pakistan’s deaf community — and dedicated his entire life to solving it.
He didn’t switch causes every year.
He stayed focused for over 30 years.
That’s what makes him a true leader and change-maker.
We estimate that through education, sign language, digital content, and teacher training, Richard Geary has already impacted over a million people in Pakistan, directly or indirectly.
He transformed not just lives, but systems.
And that’s exactly the kind of person we want to create — a thousand more “Richards” in Pakistan.
At Rehan School, we tell our students:
Find one problem.
Study it.
Dedicate your life to solving it.
That’s how you change the world — one issue, one community, one life at a time.
Richard Geary did that.
He is living proof that one person, with love and conviction, can lift a nation.
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🇵🇰 A Lesson for Every Pakistani
Many of us dream of leaving Pakistan.
He, who was born abroad, found his heaven here.
Maybe Pakistan’s problem isn’t that people leave.
Maybe its problem is that not enough people stay to build.
If one foreign family can come here, and through pure love and service, change the destiny of thousands of deaf children,
imagine what 220 million of us can do —
if we give, if we build, if we serve.
Richard Geary didn’t wait for perfect systems or funding.
He began with what he had — a heart, a purpose, and a belief that every child deserves a chance.
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🌷 A Thank You from Pakistan
Today, Pakistan says: Thank you, Richard Geary and Heidi.
Thank you for showing us what true humanity looks like.
Thank you for proving that love knows no borders, and that compassion speaks louder than language.
You came as guests.
You became family.
You gave your life to our children — and in return, you earned the love of a nation.
May Allah bless you both with health, happiness, and Jannat in this world and the next.
You didn’t just teach Pakistan’s deaf children to speak with their hands —
you taught us all to listen with our hearts. ❤🇵🇰
— Rehan Allahwala
Founder, Rehan School