Punam was only four when her father contracted leprosy. That began a nightmare that found her begging, abused, held captive in a leper colony and offered up for marriage by the age of 14.
Her 10-year struggle for survival ended when Punam met a facilitator from Shakti, Aangan’s community-based programme building resilience in vulnerable girls. Shakti sessions helped build Punam’s spirit and confidence. Denied an education by her circumstances, Punam is now enrolled in school and attending tuition classes at the Netherlands Leprosy Relief Foundation. Punam plans to finish her education and support her parents.
Tending cattle by the age of 5, Anita never dreamed she would get an education. Now she is a qualified teacher inspiring students at the very Developments in Literacy (DIL) school she attended.
When a DIL school opened in her village, Anita received a scholarship allowing her to go. Year after year she was top of her class while working after school to help support her family.
She realised her goal of becoming a teacher and last year joined the teaching staff at DIL’s Syed Waryal Shah School. Now Anita is encouraging her students to work hard, achieve good grades and accomplish their goals.
“It’s women like Anita who are the true catalysts for grassroots social change in Pakistan,” says a DIL representative.
DIL is dedicated to providing quality education to disadvantaged children, especially girls, by establishing and operating schools in underdeveloped regions of Pakistan. Trust funding improves the quality of education at DIL’s school with effective training for over 600 rural teachers.
