24/02/2019
This Man is such a true inspiration, the picture say it all...
Sunday's Success Story of ELDC's MS Scholars ALI RAZA.
I belong to a Khoso family. In my family no one had ever gone to a school. I was the first one from all the villages nearby to dare to go school based on my sheer determination. I used to long walks of 4 kilometers everyday to reach to school. Besides being challenging, life has been kind enough to bless me with some kind. For my matriculation, I got admission in Kashmore but didn’t have any fees to pay for my hostel. This was paid by my friends Langh brothers. I can’t thank them enough till today. By the time, I came in intermediate, my family was involved in gruesome tribal fight. The opposite’s tribe’s man was killed in the fight. My family decided that I should sit now home since my long journeys to school exposes me as an easy prey to their revenge. I was fad up of these fights and just wanted to change my life and my peoples. My sincere prayers and desire melted mountains for me and a friend Zia Chatha got me admission in Sadiqabad Punjab to pursue my intermediate studies. I was away depending on my own self financially and emotionally at such a tender age. Iqra College Sadiqabad’s teachers and management became my new family. Owing to my financial conditions and hard work, they gave me scholarship to continue my studies and a lot of love.
Meanwhile, two of my close family members were murdered in the tribal fight. I was also booked in a fake FIR. My college stood by me and my regular attendance over there got the FIR abolished against me. I can’t thank enough the help of SSP Peer Muhamamd Shah who also helped me during those days reduced the psychological pressure I felt.
Time passed, and I came back village after completing intermediate. I thought that is the end now. I did not know that universities do exist, and people like me can also dare to enter in those big buildings. Life always sends me angels in the shape of humans when I touch lows in life. Another friend Ahmed Ali Sooomro introduced me about the possibility of studying at a university. He filled my form and sent me to his friend in Jamshoro to do test preparation. His friends were living at a hostel and outsiders weren’t allowed to enter. I climbed from the big wall of the hostel and entered inside the hostel and stayed there hidden till I prepared for the entry test of the University. I took the test of Sindh University and scored 65 out of 100 and got my first choice, English on merit. My happiness was clouded by the worries. I literally had no means to support myself or my studies. I started looking for a job. Any sort of job in fact to support me.
I found a job of a private security guard in night shift which did not allow even Eid holiday on a meagre sum of 6200. I accepted the offer. I spent my Eids and other holidays filling generators and looking at the locked buildings. The building was very old and based in the desolated area. I learnt to manage my fear over there. During those four years, the demands of the job kept changing with each changing officer. Some demanded me to come early evening and bring teas for them, fill diesel in the generator and even pump it out through a pipe when generator was air locked. I was mechanic, tea boy and a guard. These experiences reduced me to a robot with sleepless nights, saving diesel for officers, putting load on batteries and running generator for a few minutes during load shadings yet the amount I got was hard to support my annual fees, and my own expenses. Meanwhile, one of my Sindh University teachers Dr Fattah Soomro opened a coaching center in Jamshoro society with the name of MAK . He offered me job there. I started teaching there too to earn financial support. But his love and experince professionally groomed me. Thank you Sir. In the year 2014, when I was about to graduate from English department, I was awarded USAID scholarship and I was happy to save it since I could plan higher studies with it. But my mother fell severe ill and I immediately called my nephew. I asked him to make Ami sit on a bus and give my number to her. Ami reached at Phatak. She had my number written on a page saved in a loop of her scarf. She sat in a rickshaw and asked him to call on the given number. I reached and took her along with me. I got her admitted in MISC, LUHMS and got her pancreas removed. I spent almost all money on her. One of the security guards, whose family was staying in NTC office near PD office MUET, accommodated my mother. I supported them with USAID scholarship’s money till she regained health and went back to village. It was a relief to see her healthy again and happily left her village. I graduated in December 2015 from Sindh University. Soon after it, I applied for Masters in Linguistics at ELDC, MUET Jamshoro. I passed my first semester in ELDC. My expenses were bore through HEC fee reimbursement program. Soon, teaching assistant jobs were opened at ELDC.
We were many people who were called for the interview. It was my turn. I entered and responded whatever questions were asked. One of the interview panelist asked me, ‘If we take you for this job, will you quit security guard’s job? I replied, ‘No, because guard’s job also provides me with an accommodation and I can’t bear expenses of accommodation somewhere else’. He said,’ dear, are you a robot? How you will you manage the security guard’s job, teaching assistant’s job and your MS studies?’. There director ELDC, Dr. Habibullah Pathan intervened and brought a turning point in my life. He said, ‘I think he should be given a chance. I want to recruit this boy’. He barely knew me but his trust in my determination changed the face of destiny for me. I was appointed as a Teaching Assistant in 2016. The respect and love I have received from Dr Pathan has made me believe in life’s goodness more. His appreciation made me complete my MS degree in time under his supervision. Finally, I was conferred with the degree in 2018. Thanks sir Habibullah shb , I owe my success to you Sir. I also started teaching at Mehran University Public School. Owing to my performance, I was given extension for two years as Teaching Assistant later as a Research Associate. Life is happening professionally.
The real challenge for me has not just developing myself and coming out of ignorance and illiteracy. But it is how to pay back to society. My elder brothers, who know nothing about family planning, have two wives and uncountable children. I started pursuing them to send some of their children to school. After a lot of efforts, I got many of my nephews admitted in schools and now, I bear their expenses. I still work as a security guard at night time and teach in Mehran University at day time as a Research Associate. It has been seven (7) years working as a security guard and almost three and half (3.5) years in teaching at my alma mater MUET. I feel proud of it. I have been always a guide to my students and it is a matter of prestige for me that my students trust me share their problems, come for counseling in different matters and I guide them in all situations as much as possible.
