The story
I am Ghezal from Afghanistan, an Afghan girl from a country where fulfilling dreams is not easy. Where education is not allowed for girls, and they are supposed to stay at home and never try to ask for education or freedom. Even dreaming can feel impossible.
My journey started five years ago. I was a girl with big dreams, just like any other teenager who wanted to become someone for herself and help her community. I loved learning, believed in the power of education, and dreamed of one day attending university. My dreams ended the day the Taliban returned to power. Everything changed. I will never forget the day the doors of hope were closed for us. I remember sitting in my classroom while the teacher was busy teaching, but after a few hours, the teachers came and told us, “You all must get out of the class and leave the school.” I will never forget the way I cried when I walked out of the school gate. Even when I asked a teacher what was happening, she told me, “Go and stay in your house forever.” Until I arrived home, I cried. For a few days, I thought everything had ended and that I would never be able to continue my education. But then I realized that it was not the end of the world, and I was not someone who would give up on her dream so fast.
My real journey started from that point. When formal education was interrupted, I started to search for every opportunity that I could find. I started to learn English whenever classes were available. I started to learn Python programming. I have proof of every dedication that I have made until now. I was not just studying. Besides that, I also worked as an ECD teacher for daily expenses, so I handled both working and studying. It was a hard time, but I was responsible for helping my family with the household expenses, and I never stepped back. The dream of education was still in my head, and then I decided to find a scholarship so that I would be able to continue my education. I applied, and some accepted my application, but I had financial issues and other problems in the scholarship process. I was not able to succeed, and after all the tries that I had made, I stopped right there. After that, I started to work as a volunteer to help other young teenagers learn and experience new things. Today, these experiences have shaped me as a strong girl. They taught me that education is about far more than textbooks or exams. It is about giving others the confidence to believe that tomorrow can be better than today.
After lots of hopelessness and failure, I was accepted to a university in Canada. For a moment, it felt like every late night, every setback, and every sacrifice had finally led somewhere, toward success and fulfilling my dreams. Soon came a question: How are we going to pay for it?
Like countless families in Afghanistan, my family has also struggled with conflict, economic hardship, and uncertainty. They simply cannot afford international tuition. Not because they don’t believe in my dream. It is because the cost is far beyond their reach.
This fundraiser isn’t about charity. It’s about giving me the chance to finish a journey I have already fought so hard to continue. It’s about making sure that after years of lifting others, I am not forced to let go of my own dream because of where I was born.
Every donation, whether it’s $10 or $100, moves me one step closer to the classroom I have dreamed about for years. If you can’t donate, sharing my story could reach the one person who can. The Taliban interrupted my education. Let’s make sure financial hardship doesn’t end it.
Thank you for believing in me and for helping me write the next chapter of my story.
