SOL - Key Persons

I was not blind at birth. I remember the day when I was told that I will not be able to see again like it was only yesterday. It was the year 2002 that my eyesight had started getting weak. I was quite young at that time. My family consulted almost every doctor across the city and they told me that with passage of time I will be able to see better. The situation was, however, entirely different than what the doctors had predicted. You can only imagine how a little boy would feel when he is told he will never be able to see properly ever again. With the passage of time, where I was hoping that my vision would get better it had only started to get worse. I have a disease that is called Retinitis Pigmentosa. It causes retinal degeneration that either progresses or regresses with time. My life was getting severely affected. I was adviced to quit school. The feeling where I could not see my family, friends and loved ones even though they were doing so much for me was killing me inside. My world as I knew it ceased to exist when I had lost complete vision in both my eyes. Everything was a blur and it was all falling apart and I couldn't bring myself to disclose what I was feeling. What does a child who has lost his vision supposed to feel? Like every other youngster of my age I also had a plan for myself and my future. I was hoping to get better, go back to school and resume my studies. Where I was standing, I could only see two choices, either to indulge myself in self-pity or to not let this moment define me. I chose the latter. I did not let this get the best of me. I pushed my self hard. I knew that I wasn't a quitter! You know what? Family plays a major role in your life. This was the time when I needed the support of my parents and like every other parent, my mother had dedicated her life to support and to push me through worst times because this is what family does, their love is unconditional and eternal. She was there to help me and my sister who is also suffering from the same disease every step of the line. I can't thank her enough for all that she has done for me. She is like my own wonder woman. I think if I didn't have her by my side a lot of things wouldn't have been the way they are today. She had always kept a positive attitude around us, like nothing was wrong and that everything is just going to fall in place, eventually. With her continuous help and support and my own personal dedication I resumed everything that I wanted to achieve making peace with the fact that I will never be able to see the colors of this world ever again. Let me tell you, the world and people around you are beautiful either way. I have always kept myself motivated. You know, nothing is impossible if you have the willingness to work hard towards accomplishing you goals. Infact, I consider this as a blessing in disguise. I hope you share my story with people especially those who don't have access to basic facilities. I want them to know there is a future in this country and that even people with disabilities can do so much. We should just stop playing the victim and focus on doing things rather than complaining about them. I have family abroad, my sister asks me to move to the United States because they have more opportunities for me but I don't want to leave Pakistan. I wish to stay here and make all those facilities available for the 10% of the people with disabilities . I want to stay here and fight for them. Ali Khan Tareen has done his masters in Mass Communications. He has been working with different organizations, particularly NGOS including Young Social Reformers, Youth Parliament, Society for National Education and Karachi Youth Initiative. He has also done a Radio Project on FM 100 in 2014 running a Web Radio show called ‘Sab ka Saath'. The show has been dedicated to visually impaired people. Ali is also a recipient of the Government of Sindh, Department of Youth Affairs Youth Icon Award in 2012. Ali had joined Train the Young Trainer, a premier program by School of Leadership in April 2015. He wishes to pursue his career in training so that his story reaches out to many people. He has also conducted trainings in the past on motivation, confidence and building self-esteem.

My father passed away when I was only 10 years old. He was a patient of diabetes. We are 9 siblings and I was the youngest. We had to struggle a lot to make ends meet because all of them were studying back then. My mother always encouraged us to study. She has been the biggest motivation in my life. After I completed my Matric, I wanted to get an admission in a good college. I gave my entrance exam and got admission only to realize that the fee was too much for me or my family to afford. I never planned on being a burden on my family. I had to drop out eventually because I was unable to pay such a high fee. My life was beginning to get severely affected but I was determined on never giving up. After that, I decided to continue with my studies and got an admission in a government college but you know how government-owned institutions are, they never used to conduct any classes there. Time was slipping away from my hands and I used to feel that I am just wasting my time there. Like I mentioned before, my mother was keen on helping me stay focused and not straying away from the right path. I always had a strong command over English Language and had good computer skills. She, therefore, asked me to teach. Let me tell you something that you won't believe. I was privileged enough to find a job only at the age of 17. There was a school near my area of residence by the name of Muslim Public High School, and I was appointed as a Computer and English Language teacher there. And yes, I was the youngest teacher over there. Some of my students used to look older than me and some were actually older. I planned to continue my studies on the other hand and used to pay for my classes from my job at the school. To further enhance my skills, I did my diploma in English Language and I have currently joined Aptech Institute at Shahra-e- Faisal Karachi. This is not all that I have to tell you. I want you all to hear about the happiest moment in my life. The time when I heard and got a chance to attend Young Leaders Conference by the School of Leadership. My friend, Asif, had introduced me to this amazing platform where lost souls like me find their true potential. Never had I thought, that a person like me would be able to talk to, let alone face people like I am talking to you if it wasn't for YLC. I was the quietest among my friends and family members. I was scared of talking to people. I had no confidence to face or talk to others. I used to have a lot of ideas but didn't have enough confidence or exposure to present them in front of others. Young Leaders Conference gave me both, exposure and confidence. I was shy and nervous around girls too. I had female cousins who I had never spoken to, my entire life because it used to make me nervous and also because I was very narrow-minded. I knew that I had to attend this conference but was heart-broken when I found out that I won't be able to pay the fee. That was the biggest challenge for me, knowing that I could not afford it financially. The team at SoL gave me an idea about how to raise sponsorships and as they say, where there is a will, one always finds a way, I thought of not giving up. YLC was only 10 days away and I had no money to submit my fee. I knew that I had to attend it at any cost so I started contacting different people. I decided to visit my landlord, who lived approximately 1500 km away from my place with my sponsorship letter. I told him about Young Leaders Conference that was taking place in Islamabad and he asked me about the fee. The fee wasn't a big deal for him to pay but he refused my offer. This, however, was not the last resort. I had already applied to a lot of companies seeking help for sponsorship. All my dreams were shattered when he said no. I had travelled so far only hoping that he would be able to help me but he clearly refused to help. But I am a strong believer and I believe that if a person is determined and has a passion for something, things eventually fall in place. I went back home only to open my mail and find a letter from a company saying I had gotten full sponsorship excluding the travel for YLC. I remember this day as the happiest day of my life. As far as the travelling cost was concerned, I knew that could be managed. I owned a cell phone and a graphics card for my computer which I decided to sell off, later on, to pay for my travel to Islamabad from Hub. You know what? I had to leave my brother's reception because it was the same day as YLC. YLC gave me the confidence and exposure I needed to flourish in life. I had no sense of interacting with people and YLC just channelled all that energy into something more prospering. Each day that I wake up, I feel like helping the community in whichever way I can. I believe there is no greater happiness than making others happy. I was always good with computer automation. I knew how to teach this skill to those who don't have money to afford a computer in this fast pacing world and with technological advancements. I sent out a message to people and went on the streets by interacting with different people, telling them that I would teach them automation. Much to my surprise a lot of people responded and learned a lot from me. Each day I wake up, I am thankful to my mother who had always encouraged me during tough times and trusted me to always do the right thing. I am currently studying at Aptech University and I have to travel 6 hours to and from Hub, where I reside to get there. I never complain because I know someday I will be able to give back to Pakistan what it gave me. I just want to tell people around me, there are a lot of ups and downs in life but if a person is determined towards something, there are no boundaries that could stop him. I urge all of you to stay focused towards your dream and don't ever let money be a cause of holding you back from what you wish to achieve. Badar Hasan is 21 years old and is currently in his first semester doing Software engineering from Aptech University, Karachi. He attended the Young Leaders Conference in 2015 and also attended Train the Young Trainer by School of Leadership in 2016.

Yousif Mangi My name is Yousif Mangi, I am 22 years old. I am working as a provincial coordinator for U-Report Pak Avaz at School of Leadership Foundation. I have done TTYT in 2014 and I started my career as a trainer from 2015 so from 2015 I have conducted over 40 training sessions and trained almost 6000 plus audience in interior Sindh. My story starts from YLC 2013 at Dream World. I am from Interior Sindh and could only speak in sindhi language. When I came to this field I found a lot of hindrances. I couldn't even talk properly nor did I know how to converse in urdu or English but I never gave up. I did YLC then TTYT and then became a part of the YLC team and alhamdullilah all that I am is because of SoL. The turning point of my life is YLC 2013. Before joining YLC, I used to be very shy. I stayed at home after 6 pm. Had no social network No one knew me. I couldn't even talk to my parents properly because I used to get nervous. After YLC, I gained so much confidence and exposure. I stayed at a hostel and got along with people. YLC was a turning point in my life where I felt that I should make use of my skills. I am very spiritual. If God has made you, it is due to a reason the only difference is that You may have heard stories, about how attending Young Leaders Conference changes your life. I need to share my story with all of you. I belong to the city of Khairpur in Interior Sindh, and I was one of the shyest person anyone could ever come across. I didn't even have the courage to stand up and speak to my parents. I had no social life or friends either. I could not even speak in any other language than my native language, Sindhi and that had caused major problems for me. My journey starts from Young Leaders Conference 2013, which is a 6-day conference held by the School of Leadership. It took place at the Dreamworld Resort, in Karachi. The 6 days that I spent there, gave me a moral boost. Never had I imagined to gain so much confidence, so much exposure in just a matter of 6 days. Attending YLC was a turning point in my life, and one of the best decisions that I had ever taken. I understood that every person is born with a unique set of capabilities that differentiates them from others. God gives the same mind to each human being and loves each one of His creations equally. It's just on us to realize what we are truly worth. I found what I was capable of after attending YLC. I am talking to you in English right now, I am talking to you at all, and it is because I pushed myself each day trying to overcome my fears all of which was possible in just a matter of 6 days. I lived alone at a hostel for my studies, I made friends and got along with all sorts of different people. YLC wasn't just the end of it. I thought of taking the next step and joining Train the Young Trainer which is also a premier program for aspiring trainers conducted by School of Leadership. I wanted to become a trainer. There, I learned how to reach out to my full potential, how to address in front of a crowd, how to handle difficult audiences. I worked hard, day and night to ensure people see how SoL has transformed my life. I am now a successful trainer. I have conducted over 40 training sessions and trained almost 6000 plus audience in interior Sindh. Thank you SoL, I am whoever I am today because of you. Yousif Mangi is 22 years old. He is working as a provincial coordinator for U-Report PaK Avaz, an initiative by UNICEF at School of Leadership Foundation. He did his Train the Young Trainer in 2014 and started off his career as a trainer from 2015.