𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟐𝟑 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤—𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞.
Here's the long story: I was born and raised in a lower-middle-class family in Gilgit. My father worked tirelessly to provide for us, doing whatever he could.
On November 11th, 2018, my life changed completely.
I applied to Cadet College Hasanabdal through a scholarship scheme called the National Outreach Program. To my excitement, I was selected and even passed the final interview. However, I was told that I needed to pay an admission fee of Rs. 150,000 to secure my place. After that, I was promised a full scholarship.
At the time, my father had only about Rs. 9,000 in his bank account, so I decided not to join CCH.
But my mother convinced my father to sell a piece of land he had bought after working for 25 straight years. My father did it, though I was unaware of the situation. One day, he told me that the admission fee had been paid and that I should prepare for Hasanabdal. I cried a lot in excitement.
Another thing: when I was applying to Hasanabdal, even my tuition teacher said to me,
"𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒂, 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒌𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒃 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒐. 𝒀𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏."
But that didn't stop me. Now, three months after graduating from college, I can say that I may have been an ordinary student, but I made an impact. My father only paid the admission fee; after that, I was on a full scholarship that covered food, health, education, and even travel for a long five years.
During my time at college:
𝟏- Founded my college's first Entrepreneurship Society.
𝟐- Hosted an international-level entrepreneurship event.
𝟑- Served as President of three societies/councils.
𝟒- Made 23 inter-wing sports appearances.
𝟓- Runner-Up for the Kurt Hahn Award 2023 – the only Pakistani honoree.
𝟔- Maintained satisfying academic grades. (I am Happy)
𝟕- Founded a youth-led international NGO, raising 3 million.
𝟖- Featured in International and National media.
𝟗- Secured donors to sponsor education for 14 deserving students.
After college, I'm now running two agencies, making enough money to support my family, and my father retired at the age of 48.
So, to all the young people out there in Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab, and Gilgit-Baltistan: Dream big. If I can do it, so can you.