Continuing Malala's Dream - Educating Pakistan

Malala Yousafzai, youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner and Pakistani activist for female education, continues to inspire people around the world yet again. The high school junior is currently in second place in TIME’s People of the Year Poll, putting her ahead of world figures including Pope Francis and Barack Obama.  Her struggle for education for females has crossed transnational boundaries, making her a global symbol for promoting education and bringing the challenge of ‘education for all’ at the forefront in the global development agenda.

Recently, Malala and First Lady Michelle Obama launched the “62 Million Girls” campaign that is planned to ensure millions of girls worldwide that are not currently in school, receive the social and economic opportunities to receive an education. As we know, when these girls aren’t given a chance to realize their potential, the whole world loses out. In her speech at the launch, Malala spoke about the relationship between education and poverty, highlighting the fact that although we have the resources to prioritize education and combat the challenges that lack of education can bring with it, the fact remains that these resources are being used to fund activities that are not useful to society.

“It’s not that there is lack of money in this world,” she said. “We have billions and trillions of dollars, but where the money goes is military; it’s things that are useless and that are not useful to society”, the 18 year old Nobel Peace Prize winner said.

 A key part of this “62 Million Girls” campaign is to encourage and support community-led solutions to reduce barriers that prevent adolescent girls from completing their education.

The communities we work with under Nur Foundation, comprise of many such females who come from poor socio-economic backgrounds, who might not have the resources to afford quality education or the support to continue their education but have the hunger to learn and succeed in life. Our aim is to continue on with Malala’s dream and eliminate the barriers girls face in these communities and provide them with equal opportunities to make them active citizens. Over the past 19 years, we at Nur Foundation have seen many females become success stories, inspiring their families and the community to send their daughters and sisters to school as well. 

Formal and non-formal education enables conditional learning that carries positive effect in the life of a student. Education always affects mental development and thinking patterns and boosts confidence in students.

Nur Foundation (NF) schools have enabled 18,000 students of different peri-urban areas of Lahore Pakistan, to indulge in the life long experience of education and change the status of their lives from being poor and impoverished to become accomplished and successful. Out of 1850 current students enrolled in NF schools, we are pleased to honour Afia, a student who has worked hard, despite all the hardships in her life, to excel academically. 

Afia is a 16 years old girl who is living in Malik Pur village of Lahore. She has five sisters and no brother. She has always seen her father critically ill and bedridden leaving her mother to be the sole breadwinner for her 6 daughters and her sick husband. Afia and her two sisters are enrolled on a non-payment plan in the NF school and all three are brilliant students. Her elder sister has also completed her matriculation from the NF school and is also currently teaching there, helping her mother to bear household expenses.

There came moments in Afia’s life when she was about to dropout from school in order to assist her mother with everyday chores and earning expenses. She joined her elder sister in providing home tuition to students, while also simultaneously pursuing her studies.  She stands with determination and motivation for her education, with an unbeatable and high spirit, leaving no room for losing hope in achieving her dreams just like Malala Yousafzai.

Remarkably, in matriculation exams of 2014-2015 she scored 950 marks out of 1100 marks, a success which has been seldom achieved by any student of NF schools in their educational quest. The result day was a day of celebration, not only for Afia and her family, but also for the entire Malik Pur community, the teachers who taught her, the school management team and the project management team who are working day and night with dedication for the success of this program. As a valued contributor, this is a moment of pride for you as well. Without your donations, this achievement would not have been possible.

It was education that boosted Afia’s confidence, and it was your donations that helped her achieve her educational goals. Afia deserves to get higher education, and this dream can become possible with your continued support.

Many success stories are still waiting to happen. Donate today to make them possible!