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Reading Circles Project in Pakistan

Alumni hold a banner in front of youth

By Mashal Akram (YES 2014-2015, Pakistan, placed with AYUSA in Phoenix, AZ)

When I sit back, I realize that it’s been more than five years since I returned from the U.S. Indeed, one of the finest aspects of my stay in the U.S. was the time I spent serving the community. I get bored of many things, but the only thing I have never been bored of is volunteering. I never realized that serving humanity would actually become a passion for me—a passion that would never have an expiration date, a passion which would never be lessened, but instead would always be multiplied by its endless essence.

Recently, when I visited an orphanage in Lahore, Pakistan for a play day for a project that I did in January, I felt that there must be something done for the education of the kids at the orphanage. At the very next moment, I made up my mind and asked the person in charge about the next available time for the Reading Circles project, which I planned to do in February.

The Reading Circles Project is an attempt to revive the culture of book reading among rural and urban students in Pakistan. Therefore, along with other YES alumni, I engaged kids of the orphanage in storytelling activities. The project was divided into two rounds: in the first round, alumni read stories to the kids and in the second round, each kid came up to share the story they have read. This activity boosted confidence and engaged students in reading.

Mashal stands in a classroom teaching young boys

There were two things that really inspired me to plan the project. Firstly, it was the students’ willingness to learn new things. Secondly, my passion for my studies helped me to think of the idea. The biggest lesson I learned in doing this project was that I came to know that this sort of learning project shouldn’t be stopped; it should keep going for all students. It has been a long journey from my time as a YES student up until now. I’ve completed more than 60 projects which I helped initiate myself. I know that the spirit that I saw in people in the U.S. and the support I received during my YES year have inspired me to keep on going! 


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