Success Stories
Shahzaman
Shahzaman student of class 2 is 12 years o joined Mashal in play group 4 years ago. belongs to Kashmir. His 3 elder brothers and 4 sisters were admitted in school. His whole family is involved in scavenging and collecting garbage from the very beginning, this is their source of income. They sell plastic and metal at the end of the day and get Rs. 300 per day on a good day.
After coming to school he has become very confident and loves to socialize in the school. Because of the influence of coming to school the mindset and attitude has changed. The parents did not allow their daughters to study. After 2 years they sent them to go and scavenge outside and earn a living
We at ‘Mashal tried to convince them but they said someone has to earn ‘ if my sons study these girls don’t need to go to school otherwise we won’t send the boys to the school.’
Small changes over a long period of time has a significant change in the life of his family. Their girls have been coming to our sewing classes and have been talking about how they are harassed on the streets. So they were given special classes in order to give them awareness about sexual harassment and abuse. Now these girls come informally and have joined functional literacy classes provided in the afternoon at Mashal.
Shahzaman says he talks to his parents about sending the girls to school with him.
Noor Bibi
Syed Asad Husain Shah
Asad’s family belongs to Muzaffarabad, his father came to Islamabad in October 2005 when a powerful earthquake jolted Kashmir and the neighboring areas. They had no choice but to move in this urban slum area after their house had collapsed. He has three siblings, 2 brothers and a sister, and their father provides for them by cooking food in the Bari Imam Shrine area.
Asad didn’t know what to do so he and his brother started begging at the shrine area. Sohail, our admin manager saw him and convinced him to earn a life of dignity and respect. He brough his brother and sister to Mashal, but his father took them back on the street. He joined the school again and is now in Speed Literacy Classes at Class 5 level.
He sells flowers and shopping bags at the shrine and wants to study and feels dignified. His acceptability and socialization coming to school has given him high self-esteem and he feels accepted in his environment.
Asad wants to work in the police force when he grows up and wants to protect children like him.
Sabia Bibi and Ayesha Shahid
Though confident and bright-eyed, there is still hint of melancholy overshadowing Sabia and Ayesha as they speak of the Taliban, as though the memory still haunts them. They speak in whispers, fearing their words will be heard through the walls. They speak of the strong and resilient women in their family who tried to stand up to the “bearded men” but were silenced and never the same again. Both of their families ma e the decision to pack up and leave, realizing that the situation would only get worse.
Sabia Bibi and Ayesha Shahid are in 6th and 5th grade, respectively, and are cousins from the Bara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Both girls distinctly recall their early childhoods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where their families were subjected to harassment by the TaIiban. They tell stories of neighbors being shot in the fields, women were not allowed to leave their homes. They remember girls only slightly older than themselves forbidden from attending school, simply because of their gender. Even the young girls who managed to leave the house were forced to cover completely, forbidden to show their eyes. Some persistent families managed to educate their daughters at home; but for other girls, going to school was a hopeless process.
The only available education they could remember was the local madrassa, where young boys and girls studied together until they were too old to study together.
Sabia and Ayesha moved to Islamabad with no prospect of an education. But Sabia recalls hearing about Mashal School and walking over two hours with her older sister in order to attend. She can still remember the pain in her feet, but says she would do it again to create a future for herself.
Sabia loves Math and Science, and hopes to enlist in the army. She wants to take an active role as a woman to protect her country, especially after what she experienced as a child. Ayesha, on the other hand, giggles when she reveals her love for dance, particularly how much she loves to dance at weddings. While she admits that Math and General Science are her favorite subjects, she values the inspiration that comes from creativity and self-expression. She wants to give back to her community by becoming a successful doctor, ensuring that others – especially women – receive timely and effective treatment.
Raza Abbas
Raza Abbas hails from Larkana in Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh. His father, Zulfiqar Ali, worked in Islamabad and fell ill due to severe skin conditions and lost his job. He lived in Golra Sharif for 4 years. His father had married twice and left his mother. He came back after one year of sever ambiguity. The father, after coming back, got addicted to drugs and started staying at home. He remained jobless for almost a year.
Raza, during this time, suffered from emotional and social problems. As a minor he also went through secual abuse. Raza had a hidden passion and talent for acting. Studying at Mashal not only gave him an opportunity to get education but also helped him to explore and exhibit the real passion in him that was buried deep under the problems of his family condition. Raza acted in the short video named ‘Walk to the Moon’, and wants to become an actor.
Iqra Younis
“Against all odds I wanted to study. I have changed and I am not afraid I am confident now and I want to be a doctor. I have decided that nothing can stop me now”
14 years old Iqra is a sister amongst 6 girls and 2 boys. Iqra is the first girl in her family to go to a school. Iqra lived in her village before coming to the school. In her village traditionally girls do not go to school. Her brothers did not want her to go to school either and made it difficult for her to join any educaitional institute. Iqra joined the school but she was taken out by her father and was sent to a madrassa for 2 years. She saw that girls were not treated fair there too. She then came back to the school and is now studying at class 6 level. Iqra convinced her younger brother to study with her at the same school who is now at class 4 level.
Iqra says that in every house there should be someone who is educated. She was engaged since her childhood to her cousin who has done his matric. Iqra will not get married if she does not have it in writing that her husband would let her study and be something in life. Iqra says that Mashal is very lucky for her because had it been for her family she would not be able to get education.
“I will make sure that I make my children study as well. A whole generation will be apart.”
Akhtar Zeb
“Mashal helped and supported me when I had no one to help me. Faith and hard work always brings success. There is no other way to look at life.”
Akhtar left his home at the age of 8 in order to pursue his dream to become a cricketer. He hails from Mardan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. When he left his home he came to Islamamabd and started living at the Bari Imam shrine. Akhtar earned his living running errands for the police staff deployed at the shrine for his living. He used to sleep at the shrine area at night. His parents tried to search him but since he did not want to go back home and stop chasing his dream so he never contacted them back. He used to practice playing cricket regularly at Quaid-e-Azam University playground.
Akhtar cmae to Mashal for help and got a job as a coach despite having no education and formal training in cricket. Once in the job he behan to believe in himself more than before.
Sometime back the family came back to him to live with him and they are living together now. Akhtar is 27 years old now and happily working at Mashal and in the nights he works as a security guard at a different place. Akhtar has trained many students and brought up hidden sporting talents at the school Sakeena won the “Player of the Match” award at a recent match sponsored and organized by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Sharmeen Rida
A tumultuous childhood meant that Sharmeen Rida had to play the role of an adult early in her life. Sharmeen lost her mother at 13, leaving her responsible for 6 younger siblings and a grieving father. Soon after, financial collapse forced the family to separate. A native of Gujranwala, Pakistan, she is a teacher in the Speed Literacy program at Mashal Model School. An exceptional student, Sharmeen was granted special permission to take her Matric examinations. Though she lacked the materials and time to study, she returned to her hometown to sit the exams and, to her surprise, passed.
Although she passed her examination, she still needed to accept the prospect of a future without an education in order to support her family.
Unable to accept a life without her siblings, Sharmeen worked tirelessly at a clinic in Peshawar and managed to save enough to bring them all together.
Eventually, Sharmeen, her father, and her siblings made their way to Islamabad. Sharmeen soon learned about Mashal Model School from her neighbors, sparking her interest and curiosity. Upon meeting Zeba Husain, Sharmeen was immediately inspired and excited to join the community, which she describes as a positive and healthy decision for her growth. She soon developed a love for teaching, and is consistently inspired by the resilience and perseverance of the students in her Speed Literacy program. She is proud to share that the children in this program rarely have previous education, and most do not even know the alphabet, but by the end of the program they are seamlessly integrated into the national curriculum.
Sharmeen says that Mashal Model School is a model of the loving and accepting community that makes her feel immensely welcome. Her skills and worth as a professional are valued by the staff and the kindness and respect she receives from the community teaches her to share the same values with her students, consistently encouraging them through positive reassurance and adopting a student-centered approach in her teaching. At Mashal Model School, she has found support and a safe space to connect with other teachers.
Sharmeen is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in economics at Allama Iqbal University.
