By Sahar Gul | Project Leader
Dear Friend,
Ramadan Mubarak! My name is Aleena and I am a Grade 9 student at a government school in the Jhangi Syedian community on the outskirts of Islamabad.
In 2022, two Teach For Pakistan Fellows entered my classroom. They did more than just help me and my classmates improve academically. They encouraged us to ask questions, take initiative, and believe that our voices mattered. For the first time, I felt that students like me did not have to wait for change. We could lead it. In our classrooms, communities, and for our country.
When my teachers helped make our school library functional, it became a space where my classmates and I gathered to read, think, and dream beyond our textbooks. When I noticed fewer students using it, I stepped in. I started reading circles and encouraged my classmates to return to the library. Slowly, the space came alive again, and I took on the role of Library Manager.
But I kept thinking about the children in my community who are not in school at all.
That is why I am now building a learning centre in my community with the help of my classmates who have committed to teaching alongside me. Together, we will help younger children from our community learn to read with confidence and prepare to enter school. This learning centre is going to be the first step toward my larger goal. I am currently drafting a proposal to turn this idea into a non-profit that can expand to other communities, and one day to provinces across Pakistan, so no more children are left out of school.
This Ramadan, I invite you to give your Zakat to Teach For Pakistan. Through this, you empower students like me to lead today and transform our tomorrow, creating ripple effects that can shape generations to come.
Thank you for believing in students like me, and in the countless more whose stories are still being written. I wish you a blessed month ahead!
Regards,
Aleena Nazakat
Grade 9
Teach For Pakistan Student Alumna
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