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Zareena belongs to a small village in Balochistan province known as Killi Zareefabad in Pishin District. She belongs to a poor, tribal family. Like a traditional wife, she lived with her husband who was the sole breadwinner of the family. Zareena had no complaints about her life. She loved her husband and he worked hard to make ends meet. But as fate would have it, she lost her husband at a time when she was pregnant. Zareena was left distraught, with a void in her heart.
Soon after giving birth, Zareena had to deal with the dual challenge of looking after her health and catering to the financial needs of her children. As she lived in a tribal society, venturing out to find work was out of the question. She started her handicraft business from home and began earning some money to become the breadwinner for her family but her meager earnings could not provide her with the means to bear the educational expenses of her children. Furthermore, there was no school in her village and her father-in-law was against educating her daughters.
As her daughters grew older, Zareena worried that being illiterate might reduce them to the kind of poverty-stricken life that she had lived. She learned of the Enrollment, Retention, Mainstreaming, and Protection (ERMP) team that was forming a Women Child Protection and Education (WCPEC) committee in her village. After a discussion with the ERMP team headed by IRC’s partner organization SEHER, she agreed to enroll her children in the Alternative Learning Program (ALP) center. This was a move she had made against the wishes of her in-laws, who were not pleased to learn of Zareena’s enrollment of her daughters in the ALP center.
Zareena overcame all hurdles in educating her children the day she attended the first WCPEC meeting against the wishes of her in-laws. This was her way of taking charge of her life, taking a stand to educate her daughters against all odds. Over a period of time, the IRC-supported ALP center gained acceptance, making it easier for Zareena to attend WCPEC meetings. She is now an active member of the committee and hopes to educate her children to give them a life she never had.
Her financial struggles are far from over, but she does feel some degree of tranquility and hope regarding the future of her children. Zareena’s spirits have been lifted after enrolling her children in the ALP center, giving her hope that she had not felt in quite some time, as she walks a path between fortitude and tranquility.
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