Who would have thought that a lowly, impoverished girl like me would grow up to help my community when it was sick? It started as a dream. Well, not exactly! But with the help of Fair Trade, I have realized potential I could only dream of. Ten years ago, I believed  that situations in my community would change with the help of fair trade, but I did not envision it transforming this much.

I belong to a little football making village in Pakistan called Sialkot. We are known worldwide for  making and producing footballs using child labour. We were also known for being quite poor, with an extremely low standard of living. We had no schools, potable drinking water, access to healthcare, and many others. But we were saved when Fair Trade came to our rescue.

Fair trade helped my community get paid for the work that we did. They also helped build better schools, hospitals, eye clinics, and access to potable and safe drinking water. When I also expressed interest in going to medical school ten years ago, I received aid from Fair Trade and grants from my government and other foreign organizations. This not only covered my tuition for my time in medical school but also catered for my feeding, healthcare, transportation, and accommodations. Now, my community and I are grateful to Fair Trade for all they have given to us.