As a school bell rings in the distance, Abi and Ján sit down to speak to Amna. One of the alumni of a CARE-adopted girls’ school, Amna, coaches other young people and builds their public speaking skills and confidence.
Written by Madeleine Harris; edited by Ján Michalko
Photos by CARE Foundation and Ján Michalko
Friday morning in chilly November is a busy time at the CARE Foundation offices in residential Lahore. The hustle created by people arriving to pick up their scholarship money or participate in teacher training shows how the Foundation’s work is an important force not only in the city, but across the country.
Amongst the people arriving through CARE’s gates is Amna, who went to one of the 855 government-run, CARE ‘adopted’ schools. This is where the Foundation has partnered with the government to help improve education for children – the future of the country – in some of the most under-served and under-resourced institutions.
Amna is currently studying at university, but she finds time to speak about her alumni committee because for her, supporting her old school is not just a nice thing to do. It’s crucial to affect change in her community and country, one young person at a time.
AN INSPIRATIONAL LEADER
Amna is a motivator. Like a lot of young people in Pakistan with determination to overcome the odds, she leads a busy life. Her schedule is carefully managed to ensure she is making the most out of every moment. To her, free time is wasting time, and so we can count ourselves lucky she squeezed us into a rare moment of unscheduled time.
Would she have it any other way? Absolutely not. Her endless energy radiates from her during our time together. Amna speaks quickly in short sharp bursts of excitement, yet it is clear that at the very core of her motivation is the desire to want to support young people to help themselves.
Amna is the eldest child; her parents’ pride and joy. She draws a lot of inspiration from her father, who has dedicated his life to crafting a career and providing the opportunity for his children to access education. When faced with the option that her father could only send one of his children to private school, Amna was the first to fight the case for her youngest sister to go.
At the time, Amna herself was attending a private school, but she knew the importance a solid foundation could provide to her sister and decided to switch to a CARE Foundation adopted school, a decision she is proud to share.
SUPPORTING THE NEXT GENERATION
Amna’s parents, both mother and father, are crucial role models in her life. As the eldest of her siblings, Amna found herself mostly speaking with the adults of the house more than her younger cousins, brothers and sisters. This exposure in her early life has given Amna the ability to speak with a boldness and determination that are pushing the boundaries and norms of what it means to be a young woman in Pakistan.
When you hear Amna talk about being part of a model UN group, as well as several debating teams, it’s hard not to think of other influential, strong Pakistani women. Amna has received awards for her skills in diplomacy, but awards aren’t her motivator. For her, sharing her skills with others is a way to –
Give a platform to students by getting them to debate. When I see a spirit [in young people] to learn, I nurture it – I go after it. This is what motivates me.
Amna is clear about her strengths and enjoys coaching young people to find their strengths too. When she is asked to help people, Amna laughs. She says she has a ‘secret recipe’ for others to find courage; she provides them with a personalised plan for them to work on over the course of several days. So far, her success rate has been high!
Amna is passionate about instilling confidence and voice in others too. In a context where many girls and women are challenged when using their voice, Amna is a beacon of hope and solidarity for others.
THE POWER OF CONNECTION
Seeing that there continue to be challenges with young people’s confidence, their knowledge of the world and the context within which they are studying, Amna continues to run the debating clubs, saying that they provide a platform for students who might not otherwise have it.
For Amna, the alumni committee gives the potential for former students to dedicate their time and skills for the next generation of learners and leaders, because they feel very closely attached to the school that CARE Foundation support, which has had a hugely positive impact on her and her family. When directly asked about role models outside her family, Amna talks about an influential educator –
He is the greatest person I’ve ever met. He inspires every person he meets and was a big influence on my life.
The role of former students in the lives of current students is crucial, Amna stresses; they can make the links that students need to succeed in their studies, and in their lives. For her, the network opens her own perspective too– she is able to learn from students about what is happening in the school and gives the chance to improve herself too. Jokingly, Amna says –
“I never left, I only graduated. I keep going back there!”
