“My education has given me the confidence and tools I need to give back to my community and create an impact. It has given me the power to be independent and the means to support my family.

Since completing my degree, I have started working in clinical research at the department of Cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I am also currently working on my residency application and will be applying to Internal Medicine residency programs.

In ten years, I hope to have completed my residency and fellowship training and opened my own clinic. I see myself being more involved in non-profit organizations and charities that aim to improve the lives of children around the world and to support organizations fighting climate change.

I hope to be more active on the ground and be a voice for minority groups facing injustice. I hope to inspire more people around me to stand up and speak up against inequality and discrimination. I also hope to inspire my community to volunteer more of their time and efforts to support those who are less fortunate.

“Starting my professional career at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), I became more aware about development projects not being inclusive of all genders. In addition, I saw economic rights being denied to people in general and vulnerable communities in particular.

At HRCP, I also initiated and co-authored a fact-finding mission in Chitral to understand the alarming rate of suicides and assess the social and economic factors leading to the shrinking of a community that already faces the threat of extinction.

Currently, I am working with Accelerate Prosperity (AP), which is a new global initiative of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) – an international NGO that works in areas where economic opportunities remain insufficient for youth and women in rural and semi-rural areas. We do this by developing more formal structures to catalyze enterprises within AKDN’s main area development programs. AP aims to support and catalyze sustainable small and growing businesses through its incubation and acceleration programs.

While at AP, I help facilitate the creation of Small and Growing Businesses (SGB), which are commercially viable businesses, to create jobs for local residents that are innovative and have an impact on society. The aim is to contribute to inclusive economic development by catalyzing SGBs, promoting entrepreneurship amongst women and youth, and creating space and networks to facilitate technical expertise and creative financial solutions that can bridge the gaps between entrepreneurs, investors, governments and donors.

I intend to create evidence-based practices on youth and gender engagement in Pakistan. Evidence-based practices will convince AKDN and the government to include youth and gender development programmes in the long-term project of AKDN, Impact Investing Initiative, a programme with which I am currently associated. For this purpose, I will capitalize on the already established professional relationships that I have developed with local community entrepreneurs, the Ministry of Information Technology, and other relevant stakeholders.

My ultimate goal is to work at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a policy maker who makes data-driven policy, based on best practices.”

“I am from a small family consisting of my mother, brother, and me. It was almost impossible to afford higher level education. However, I had several jobs to earn enough money to cover tuition fees and living expenses, and I managed to fund other educational expenses with the help of the Spark of Hope Foundation.

All the skills and knowledge that I got from my academic journey helped me to become a young professional. As a result, after graduation during the pandemic, I received several job offers from international organizations. Now, I am an independent young woman from Central Asia, able to financially support myself and my family.

The experiences that I had through my educational journey paved the way for me eventually labeling myself a feminist. In fact, once I started to notice just how much society oppresses women, the women’s empowerment movement became more and more attractive to me.

During my studies, I had several internships and work experiences at international organizations such as DFID, USAID, PeaceNexus Foundation and UN Women as a consultant and program assistant. Currently, I am working as a conference assistant and SMM specialist at the American Councils of International Education in the Kyrgyz Republic.

In the coming years, I plan to explore opportunities in S.T.E.M. fields, and to that end, I plan to start learning programming languages soon and finding internship opportunities. Later, I may consider undertaking a Master’s degree in Data Science or Econometrics.

I would like to be a role model for girls and young women from Central Asia. One day, I would like to establish my own educational scholarship foundation for women in Central Asia.”

“The scholarship from the Spark of Hope Foundation helped fund my Master of Science in Geomatics from Université Laval, which has helped expand my professional horizons.

In addition to my prior studies in architecture, this Master’s degree helped strengthen my knowledge in sustainable development, especially how land surveyors can contribute to sustainable development. It has also given me the opportunity to conduct a research project in its entirety, setting the stage for my career in consulting.

Going forward, I can provide advisory and certification services related to land surveying and sustainable development. Thanks to the support from the scholarship, I am now a self-employed practitioner and a great asset for my family. Since completing my studies, I have launched O’dev, an advisory firm focusing on sustainable development in architecture and urban planning projects in Quebec.

Within the next five years, I plan to work closely within the context of developing countries to help promote and implement best practices in urban planning that coincide with sustainable development practices when creating or redesigning new neighborhoods.”

“Being an educationist and a teacher, I love my profession. I believe that I can play a significant role in shaping the lives of students and that teachers can act as change agents in society. Pursuing my Master of Education at AKU-IED was a dream that became a reality because this scholarship enabled me to complete my studies.

The Master’s program was a great opportunity for me to learn new knowledge and skills from different professionals. Whereas previously I was unable to deliver my content to students in an effective way due to lack of pedagogical knowledge, I can now convey my ideas to learners effectively. This platform also gave me an opportunity to enrich my content knowledge and gave me insight about different teaching strategies.

This scholarship provided me the ability to complete my education without me or my family being financially burdened. Having completed my degree, I’m applying my pedagogical knowledge in my field and have already received a promotion. I also conduct workshops for teachers to impart my new knowledge and help them improve their teaching.

To educate and shape the life of even a single student is a great achievement. Therefore, I will continue to play a role to facilitate students in getting educated. I now have the opportunity to impact the lives of many students over my career.”

“The Spark of Hope Foundation has not only supported me financially but more importantly, has helped me discover my potential. By mentoring me throughout the different stages in my career path, from helping me figure out which university to attend for my postgraduate studies to securing significant scholarships and financial assistance at Carleton University to guiding me through the visa application process, to connecting me with professionals to guide me though my career goals, the Foundation has been an integral part in every success through my academic studies and now my career.

My education prepared me well for a smooth transition from university in Lebanon to graduate school in Canada to a consulting career by providing me with the skills necessary to succeed.

My engineering degree with a specialization in Mechanical Engineering prepared me well for work in sustainable energy. The six years I spent pursuing both my undergraduate and postgraduate studies have opened many opportunities for me to pursue a rewarding career.

I am currently a Strategy Consultant at FTI Consulting in Toronto, in the strategy construction practice, where I provide quantum and risk analysis to assist companies deliver capital projects on budget and schedule.

I want to become a major player in my team at a senior level, boldly setting directions for companies. Women are underrepresented in this role. I want to be more involved in organizations that support women from an earlier age in North America and in my home country of Palestine to help them set clear goals for their future. By sharing my story, I hope to inspire them and help more young women dream bigger and achieve the impossible.”

“This scholarship has helped me to study at a prestigious international university. This higher quality education degree in Education has equipped me with multi skills and knowledge that has paved the path for my Doctoral studies.

My Master in Education acted as an entry license into the field of teaching. After completing my M.Ed. from AKU-IED, I have passed the test of the Federal Public Service Commission, which is Pakistan’s most transparent and merit-based recruitment institution in public sector organizations.

The scholarship has added a professionally trained teacher in the community which will raise the quality of education in government schools in areas like where I serve in a government high school as a trained graduate teacher. This scholarship has also raised the status and quality of life of my family because I am the only breadwinner in my family.

Currently, I am serving as a Trained Graduate Teacher in the Education department of Gilgit Baltistan. Previously, I have also worked as a lecturer in Hamdard University Karachi in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Later, I served in a year-long project of Non-Formal Education in AKU-IED as a research and teaching associate. In short, studying for a master’s degree at AKU-IED has greatly impacted my life professionally. It has enabled me to stand out in a competitive world as a passionate teacher and a professional.

I see myself at some higher leading positions in the Education Department of Gilgit-Baltistan so that the impact that I wanted to make particularly in Government Schools would benefit the entire province.”

“I have completed my exams for my medical degree and applied for the two-year internship in the UK that will allow me to get my license and registration to practice, as well as narrow down my specialty.

Medicine is something I’ve wanted to do from a young age. I’ve always had it in my mind that I want to be a doctor and help people because I was exposed to it at quite a young age. I always found it to be a fascinating career and so it was a goal that I consistently worked towards.

This scholarship made it possible for me to come to the UK to do this degree. Medicine is a long degree and an expensive one: it would have been very difficult for me and my parents to support this degree if we had not had support from an organization like the Spark of Hope Foundation.

I had a lot of experience before medical school working in the healthcare system in Kenya — while I was a high school student, I gained work experience in hospitals in Kenya, and I saw the realities of working in the healthcare system first-hand. And then coming over to the UK to study, I saw that things are very different, with a high standard of care provided in the National Health Service. Learning and training in one of the best healthcare systems has enabled me to grow, learn and develop my own skills as a doctor. I hope that I can give back through my profession and help my community by doing my duty as a doctor to the best of my ability.

My undergraduate education has provided me with exposure to a whole new country, a whole new healthcare system, and a different lifestyle in the UK. Seeing how healthcare works here in the UK has made me realize the challenges we face in Kenya, particularly due to resource limitations in the public healthcare sector. I hope I can use the transferable skills learned in the best possible environment to better my practice and better society.

I want to be a role model for girls by showing them that I can do it, and if I can do it then hopefully that inspires other girls to aspire for their dream career! The medical field is ever expanding and in need of doctors, nurses and other allied health professionals; I hope that I can inspire younger generations to choose this highly rewarding career path.”

Sajida Raza, from Chitral in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, completed her medical degree in November 2019. Chitral only has hospitals in very few places, so access to quality healthcare can be limited and it is often cut off from the rest of the world for months during winter.

Regarding her ambitions, she says, “I want to improve medical care for my isolated village, and I also want to guide other female students.”

Her training will prepare her both for the needs of a traditional hospital setting as well as for the practicalities of delivering medical care in the mountainous areas of Pakistan. She is now on a Surgery rotation at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi. The coming months will see her move to her Medicine rotation, the service that is dealing with COVID-19 patients, where she will be thrust on the front lines of helping very ill patients afflicted by COVID-19.

Providing Sajida the opportunity to follow her dreams will have a profoundly deep and lasting impact. For the often-isolated and underserved people of northern Pakistan, having full-time doctors will significantly improve health care, enhance support to nurses and village health workers and help reduce mortality and morbidity. It will also help reduce the cost and inconvenience of travelling to far-away big cities for emergency care.

Nilufar is from Khorog, Tajikistan and completed her Bachelor’s in International Management at the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Poland and completed a very successful internship with Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

After working briefly in Poland with CWT, she is currently working in New York, gaining valuable business experience. Nilufar’s future goals are to go on to pursue a Master’s degree and aims to open medical clinics for children with special needs in Khorog and elsewhere in Tajikistan. There are very few clinics that are of good quality and reputation available. She is hoping to bring significant change in terms of acceptance of mental illness to her community and other communities in Tajikistan.

Binazir Mizrobova from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, graduated from high school with excellent grades and decided to take up French in France and completed her undergraduate degree in History from the Sorbonne. With the help of the Spark of Hope Foundation, she was also able to complete a Master’s in History and Development Studies at the Sorbonne.

She hopes her passion for history and international relations will lead her to work for NGOs focused on historic cities and culture in order to preserve historic heritage in Central Asia. She believes she can be a valuable asset to organizations such as the United Nations, with her fluency in Russian, English, Farsi, Italian and French and the language of the Pamirs. Through her own experiences and struggles to get good higher education, she also has a vision to one day create an organization that will help Pamirian students pursue their dreams of obtaining higher education, despite all the challenges they face.

Binazir is currently working as a financial analyst in the banking sector.

Hangoma Khodododova is from Khorog, Tajikistan and completed her Bachelor’s in Economics with an emphasis in tourism business management at University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Poland.

After a post-graduate internship, she is now working as a Business Travel Consultant with Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Poland. Hangoma hopes to start a travel agency in Tajikistan whereby she can encourage many more young women to get an education and empower themselves to escape the cycle of poverty through informed business ventures, especially in the tourism sector.

Being an educationist and a teacher, I love my profession. I believe that I can play a significant role in shaping the lives of students and that teachers can act as change agents in society. Pursuing my Master of Education at AKU-IED was a dream that became a reality because this scholarship enabled me to complete my studies.

The Master’s program was a great opportunity for me to learn new knowledge and skills from different professionals. Whereas previously I was unable to deliver my content to students in an effective way due to lack of pedagogical knowledge, I can now convey my ideas to learners effectively. This platform also gave me an opportunity to enrich my content knowledge and gave me insight about different teaching strategies.

This scholarship provided me the ability to complete my education without me or my family being financially burdened. Having completed my degree, I’m applying my pedagogical knowledge in my field and have already received a promotion. I also conduct workshops for teachers to impart my new knowledge and help them improve their teaching.

To educate and shape the life of even a single student is a great achievement. Therefore, I will continue to play a role to facilitate students in getting educated. I now have the opportunity to impact the lives of many students over my career.