I, Robina Shakil, lost my mother in 1980, at the age of 13. Since then my life has been an ongoing struggle. Being eldest of six children and daughter of a poor man, I felt ill prepared to handle the challenges, life had in store for me. By the grace of God, a few elders from the neighborhood not only helped me with my younger brothers and sisters but also encouraged me to continue my studies. I graduated from Lahore College Women University in 1997 and also secured a diploma in Computer Science in the same year.
Early 1998, I started my first job as Junior Instructor Secretarial Trade at Pak German Technical Training Center, under the Directorate of Manpower & Training. During the second month of my service my father died of Cardiac Arrest and all of us were left orphans. As a result, another test of life began. This time though contrary to 9 years earlier, I was more confident and capable due to my education and training. I married a highly educated person on the condition that he to help me raise my siblings especially my two younger sisters. Gradually, over a span of fourteen years, we settled all my brothers and sisters.
I was convinced that success lies in education, learning and patience and above all, Allah’s blessings. Once my family troubles were behind me and we were financially comfortable, I noticed that the domestic maids working in affluent homes were themselves living in dreadful conditions. Firstly they were not only working for very low pay, but were also being exploited in innumerable ways, beaten by their employers and being subjected to domestic violence by their, fathers, brothers and husbands. Secondly their children did not go to school especially the girls, who were being prepared as a new crop of maids who would replace their mothers.
Based on my life experience, I knew that education is the only tool that could rid these children (boys & girls) from this lifelong sentence of servitude and poverty. I was convinced that it was the only way to take them out of this cycle of hopelessness and lead them to a better and more honorable life. In Shaa Allah.
After consulting with my husband, I decided to start teaching my maid’s five children in our car porch Very quickly the number grew and within a span of 40 days the number of students increased to 65. We understood that the free midday meal that comes with the free schooling was the biggest motivator for the children as parents didn’t initially understand or appreciate the value of education as it prevented them from working and earning money.
This laid the foundation for “Aabroo Educational Welfare Organization”, a train of hope, for the desperately poor children of Pakistan, driven by its privileged benefactors, changing lives along the way. In Sha Allah.