My life has been shaped by a simple truth: potential should never be limited by circumstance—especially not for a child, and never for a girl.

When I moved to the U.S., I carried with me deep gratitude—for the education Pakistan had given me, and for the opportunities that followed. But like many Pakistani expatriates, I also felt a quiet responsibility: How could I give back?

In 1997, united by a shared vision, a small group of passionate women and I founded Developments in Literacy (DIL). Our mission was clear: to bring quality education to Pakistan’s most underserved children—with girls at the heart of our work.
But access alone wasn’t enough. Education had to be inclusive. It had to be transformative. With every classroom we built, every teacher we trained, and every child who stepped through a school gate for the first time, we weren’t just educating—we were planting seeds of hope.

As DIL grew, so did our responsibility. We expanded our network, strengthened our systems, and ensured that scale never came at the expense of quality. Today, DIL operates schools across Pakistan, reaching tens of thousands of children annually—and touching countless more through public school partnerships and teacher training programs.
We’ve embraced innovation, from digital learning tools to AI-powered language platforms. But our core promise remains the same: every child deserves a chance.

The true measure of our impact lies in the lives transformed—girls like Afreen (from a Karachi slum to Harvard), Neelum (her village’s first woman doctor), and Arifa (a trailblazing chemical engineer)—each rewriting history in communities where girls were once barred from classrooms.
Today, these same communities are proudly leading the charge. DIL is living proof that when we invest in people, change is not only possible—it’s inevitable.

This is our story. And it’s still unfolding. Join us in writing the next chapter.