Read: Parveen

Located in an urban slum of Rawalpindi, Nai Abadi town lacks basic amenities such as a sewerage system, safe drinking water, proper roads, gas supply, health care etc. To survive, most of the inhabitants, including women and children, are involved in demanding daily labor. Hence, it took a lot of convincing on part of the teachers and DIL-ABES staff to get parents to send their children to the local DIL-ABES Community School, considered an oasis for school going children in this completely neglected town.
Parveen Bibi lives with her parents and nine siblings in village Nai Abadi. Her father, Faulad Khan, migrated from NWFP with his family in the summer of 2003. He supports his family by transporting supplies on his cart, while Parveen contributes to the household income by tending to the six family goats. One day, soon after they migrated, a girl living in her neighborhood told her how much she enjoyed her school, including the extra-curricular activates that make learning so much fun. On returning home, Parveen pleaded with her parents to enroll her, who agreed only after she made a firm promise that she would not neglect her family duties. Parveen, a very good student, participates actively at school. She dreams of becoming a doctor someday so that she can change her family’s future.