FROM SILENT ROADS TO STARRY SKIES
\n The Journey of Yusra Jamsheed
\nIn my mountain village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, I used to wake with the first call to prayer. Life before my father\u2019s death feels like someone else\u2019s story now. My father would walk me to school every morning, telling me stories along the path. In the evening, he would hug me tight and call me \u201chis scholar.\u201d
\nAfter he was gone, the house fell quiet. My mother\u2019s face carried a tiredness that never left. I put my dreams away like old clothes in a trunk. The books my father brought me every month, science books, Urdu poetry, maps of places I wanted to see,sat gathering dust in the cupboard.
\nI remember finding my entrance test paper in his shirt pocket. He had paid the fee with his last salary. When my mother said, \u201cMy child, we cannot afford school anymore,\u201d I did not answer. I just held his shirt to my face, breathing in what remained of his scent.
\nMy days became washing, cooking, caring for my siblings. At night, when everyone slept, I would go to the roof and watch the stars. My father used to say, \u201cEvery star is a dream that came true.\u201d Those same stars now watched over my silence.
\nI would sit with his photograph and whisper:
\n\u201cMy father, will I ever become a doctor?
\nWill I keep my promise to you?
\nIs this all my life will be?\u201d
\nThen one day, a woman from the Sadaat Foundation came. She spoke with my mother, but her eyes kept returning to my hands-hands that knew dishwater better than book pages.
\n\u201cWe will send Yusra back to school,\u201d she told my mother. \u201cWe will help her dreams grow.\u201d
\nWhen I first stood at the Sadaat Foundation Facility at Mardan door, I closed my eyes and spoke to my father:
\n\u201cYou always said reaching the sky begins with one step.
\nToday, I am taking mine.\u201d
\nInside was a different world. My teacher told me, \u201cYusra, your father sees you. He is proud.\u201d
\nFor the first time, I shared stories about my father with friends.
\nFor the first time, my hand went up in class.
\nFor the first time, I stood before everyone and said, \u201cI want to be a doctor to understand how others hurt.\u201d
\n\u2003<\/p>\n
When my Cadet College acceptance came, I wore my father\u2019s shirt that morning. My mother held me and said, \u201cYour father is crying happy tears today.\u201d
\nNow I wear a cadet uniform. These badges on my shoulders carry the weight of all those silent nights. When I speak in class, my voice does not shake anymore.
\nMy father taught me that every problem has an answer. For me, the Sadaat Foundation was that answer. Every day, I try to keep the promise I made to him.
\nBut somewhere tonight, another girl is putting her dreams away.
\nAnother daughter misses her father.
\nAnother mother wonders how she will educate her child.
\nAt the Sadaat Foundation, we believe:
\n\u2022\tNo dream is too small
\n\u2022\tEvery voice matters
\n\u2022\tEducation turns silence into strength
\nMy father said every star is a fulfilled dream. You can help make someone\u2019s dream shine.
\nA uniform. A book. A pen.
\nThese simple things rewrite futures.
\nThis is where broken dreams mend.
\nThis is where voices find courage.
\nThis is where hope gets a second chance.
\nEvery day, I live for the promise I made my father.
\nYou could help keep another girl\u2019s promise alive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FROM SILENT ROADS TO STARRY SKIES The Journey of Yusra Jamsheed In my mountain village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, I used to wake with the first call to prayer. Life before my father\u2019s death feels like someone else\u2019s story now. My father would walk me to school every morning, telling me stories along the path. In …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17569,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17568\/revisions\/17569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}