PAKISTAN

A STORY OF
Extraordinary Resilience
M.Bilal Lakhani
From Landi
Kotal to
Europe, with
dreams and a
fistful of sand.
Zafar Ali belongs to a family of humble means hailing from
Landi Kotal, the headquarters of Khyber Agency, deep in the
heart of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
and just five kilometres from the border with Afghanistan. His
father is a truck driver and Zafar has seven sisters and two
young brothers in Kindergarten. In December 2009, shortly
after he completed his primary schooling, Zafar’s family were
forced to move out of their home town due to a family feud
and the general law and order situation in their area. Soon
after arriving in Karachi, Zafar was admitted to The Citizens
Foundation’s Yusuf Khan Campus at Hawke’s Bay close to
his family’s new home. “That school changed my life” he
says. “They had good teachers and supported us financially.
When I was leaving the school, I hid a fistful of sand from the
playground in my pocket. I still have that sand and school
uniform with me to this day.” In 2013, Zafar completed his
Matriculation with an A+ grade (85%) and was admitted to
the prestigious D. J. Science College.
“At each stage of the selection
process, I would think it’s over
now. When they told me I got
the scholarship to study in
Singapore, I couldn’t believe it.”
Despite all his hard work, what happened next took Zafar
completely by surprise. “I was told about applying to the
prestigious United World College (UWC) scholarship to
continue my education. But when I saw the competition, I got
scared. People should dream but they shouldn’t dream so
big. At each stage of the selection process, I would think it’s
over now. When they told me I got the scholarship to study in
Singapore, I couldn’t believe it.”
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