By Jahanara Shiraz | Manager, Academics
My name is Haseena. Seven years ago, my father got a job in a factory in Karachi and my family moved to the big city from a remote part of the Sindh province. A year later, I enrolled in the Zindagi Trust Primary School as a kindergarten student. Primary school was a wonderful experience that I will never forget thanks to the love, care and support I got from my teachers. They always encouraged me to look forward, aim for a brighter future and made me grow into a confident girl for which I am grateful.
This year I will sit for my 9th grade board exams. Secondary school is tough and a completely new environment for me, but I have worked harder and managed to get a distinction in all major subjects. I have been a class prefect every year, which is also a matter of honour for me.
Growing up, when I saw my father working on daily wages, struggling to support us, I promised myself to support him like a son when I grew up. I started by helping my mother stitch clothes for a living. I have now also joined a coaching center near my house where I teach students of Grades 3 to 8 to supplement our household income. After finishing high school, I want to go to college to continue my education and go on to get a job in a bank.
Most of the families from our village in rural Sindh have moved to our part of Karachi, an urban slum. I feel that it time for me to pay back to my roots. I plan to share my knowledge with the children in my community. I have full faith in myself that I will be successful in whatever I do. I am grateful to Zindagi Trust for making it possible for me to dream big and achieve my dreams!
Haseena is a graduate of our Paid to Learn schools for working children. As a top graduate, she was placed in a mainstream private secondary school through our Secondary School Support Project. She has made tremendous progress in settling into a private school environment from a non-formal education set-up. We are proud of her and of all our graduates who are showing brilliant results in secondary school. Please continue to support our programmes to make this change possible.
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