Hailing from a poor family, and in a society where educating boys is preferred over girls, Shahista Habib is a 13 year-old girl who is studying to be a Hafiza. “I am blessed that I got the opportunity to do Hifz.” Shahista says “May Allah (SWT) grant many blessings to Al Mustafa’s team and to the generous people who made it possible.”
In Okara, Punjab –Pakistan, for a girl orphaned at age seven, with a family of 9 siblings and a widowed mum, such a thing is unheard of. For Shahista, who always wanted to go to school despite all the odds, it was only possible through Al-Mustafa Walfare Trust’s (AMWT) Hafiz Sponsorship programme. Shahista’s mother, Bibi Shamim knows all too well the difficulty of supporting a family as a single woman.
Bibi Shamim fortunately had sewing skills to fall back on when she lost her husband. Now she works as a ladies’ tailor to raise her nine children on her own. She believes school will improve Shahista’s chances of earning a living in the future. But a tailor’s wages are meagre, and Bibi Shamim was already sending her two eldest sons to school. Had it not been for the AMWT sponsorship, she couldn’t possibly have afforded Shahista’s schooling. “I felt like crying,” Shahista recalls “when I saw my brothers with their uniforms and bags going to school. But now my life is changed!” It was one of Bibi Shamim's customers who informed her about AMWT’s Hafiz Sponsorship programme.
Bibi Shamim lost no time in signing her daughter up for it. Today, neither she nor Shahista can believe how fortunate they are. "Me and my mum could only dream that I can get an education in a proper institute environment". Shaista says.
AMWT supports 257 orphans and poor children in Okara alone. We're working to give them a brighter future. This Ramadan, please help us help more girl children get the education they need to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Please sponsor a Hafiz today.
