Send 50 Pakistani child workers to high school

It's unusual to hear a fresh teenager wax eloquent about the value of taking pride in one's work. Hasnat is an unusal boy. He grew up in a crowded household of six, one he has been supporting since he turned six by helping out at his father's tailoring shop. He was recruited by Zindagi Trust to join an afternoon school for working children, where he finished his primary education in two years near the top of his class and thus qualified for our secondary school sponsorship program.

Hasnat is now enrolled in a private secondary school at Peco Road, Lahore and is passionate about continuing his studies. He wants to grow up to be famous as a cricketer and a teacher. His favourite subject is science and he finds his father's tailoring work to be a great exercise in applying science.

"Cutting and tailoring is all about science; measuring, stitching and giving shape to wearing are skills mastered by exploring science."

Now fourteen, Hasnat has learned how to cut and stitch men's suits and is proud of his father’s profession. In addition to his career goals in the fields of cricket and teaching, he also has a desire to perfect his tailoring work to the level of a "Master" - or head tailor - like his father.

He leaves us with a great message to all his friends and classmates: "Take pride in your work and show to the world your potential."

Please consider making a donation to our program to help us continue supporting the secondary education of promising young children like Hasnat.

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• Our website

Danial is an eight-grade student at Bab-e-Safa Grammar, a private school in Lahore, Pakistan's second-largest city. He shows up at school early and eager every day, neatly turned out in the navy blue sweater and tie that are part of his private school uniform. He does well in school and is a passionate student. 

There is not much else about him that is similar to his classmates. He grew up watching his father working two jobs - as a auto-mechanic and a driver - and struggling to make ends meet to support Danial, his brother and two sisters. Danial worked with his father as an assistant, helping to repair the engines of motorbikes so they could collectively make up to 10,000 rupees a month. This experience planted in him the seed of inquisitiveness and an interest in becoming in engineer but school was still a distant dream.

Luckily, our field workers found him and he was recruited to study at one of our Lahore Paid to Learn schools, enrolling in an afternoon programme specially designed for children who work. This is where he realised that he had an innate drive to learn and developed a commitment to studying hard. 

By excelling in the accelerated two-year primary education programme and graduating near the top of his class, he qualified for Secondary School Sponsorship, through which we fund the continuing education of our top graduates through matriculation in a mainstream private school. 

It has now been two years since Danial was placed in the sixth grade at Bab-e-Safa Grammar School. Competing with children who have been studying in a formal school set-up since kindergarten was not easy but Danial's passion to become an engineer pulled him through. 

Danial says he is struggling to make his journey beyond the possible with a hope that at the end all things would be possible. We at Zindagi Trust believe that hard work always pays off and for us Danial's is already a great success story. We wish him all the best for the future and hope that donors like you would continue to help us support the continuing education of these bright young minds.

Links:

• Our website