Help Dua get to Grad School

Hi everyone!

My name is Duaa Rehman, and I’m 26 years old. This is my story.

I graduated from LUMS in 2021 on the Dean’s Honor List and with a Distinction of High Merit, owing to my 3.79 CGPA in my joint Anthropology/Sociology degree. I’ve gotten admission and a work guarantee at the Sociology Masters programme at the University of Alberta, in Canada. My programme starts in September 2023.

Despite a defaulting economy in 2022-23 and a chronic illness diagnosis in 2022, I’ve managed to earn and save my fee for the first year of the programme with the help of my husband over the last 5 years. For my programme, my fee is $11,306 CAD per annum. My work guarantee pays me $17,925 CAD for my first year. With my GIC and tuition covered, I will be able to manage my residence, miscellaneous fees and food budget for my first year once I’m in Canada.

However, the Launchpad expenses of flying from Pakistan, arranging necessities before travelling, paying for my residence, both short and long term, as well as other expenses such as textbooks, supplies and medical aid, are very high and I’ve exhausted my resources in regards to my own savings and personal loans. With my goal of raising £7500, I’ll be able to make my way to Canada and begin my degree, as well as have some funds for my first month till my first payment from my university rolls in. any supplemental will be saved for my second year. In having to pay for both my IELTS and my Upfront medical exam twice, as well as two rounds of applications to graduate universities, my expenses are no longer manageable for me. This is why I’m writing to you today. If you could consider helping me achieve my dream for a higher education, I would be very grateful.

Here’s what I’d like you to know.

I’m from Lahore, Pakistan, and have studied on a combination of financial aid and merit-based scholarships since my A-Levels. I chose to be homeschooled in my O-Levels so that my parents could afford my CIE exams. I was one of three students from my A-levels college to be admitted to LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences).

When I was doing my undergraduate degree, I worked part time on-and-off campus for 4 years in order to be able to make ends meet. I’ve served as TA for 3 consecutive semesters, and an RA for 2 consecutive summers, while simultaneously working as a copywriter with two sister companies during my undergrad. I managed to maintain my merit scholarship + financial aid for four years, graduating with a distinction of high merit and on the Dean’s Honor List with a 3.79 GPA.

I started planning and applying for my masters in 2020, and was admitted to the Gender and Social Justice programme at McMaster University with a scholarship and a work guarantee in 2021. In order to arrange finances, I deferred my admission to 2022. However, political instability and a struggling economy made it difficult for me to gather the pre-scholarship amount necessary in time to join my programme. Two days before the start of my degree, my admission was rescinded. I’ve now reapplied and secured admission at the University of Alberta.

Over the past 6 years, my research has focused on qualitative aspects of gender as it manifests in our socio-political circumstance. I’ve written papers on youth rebellion and the grassroots political movements in Pakistan, and have focused on digital archival analysis and participant observational techniques.

I’ve worked two projects with the Japan International Cooperation Agency post finishing my bachelors. The first was as a Research Consultant for JICA and the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training's project on educational relief during Covid-19 for Out of School children. The second was working as a Research Consultant for JICA’s Advisor for Gender Based Violence Survivors with the Punjab Social Welfare Department.

I’ve also served as a research assistant on two projects between LUMS and the Population Council of Pakistan during my undergrad. The first was in July 2020 and researched the link between reproductive rights/family planning and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 5 of gender equality, while the second was in January 2021 and focused on an analysis of the political economy of child marriages in Gilgit Baltistan. You can read these here and here. I’ve also completed two full-length qualitative projects and one full-length quantitative research project during my undergraduate degree.

I had my first job at 10 years old (I was an English tutor for 2nd graders) and have always believed in earning my way. But hailing from the Global South in a defaulting economy and no generational wealth, I have to admit that now I need to ask for help. With my goal of raising £7500, I’ll be able to make my way to Canada and begin my degree. My tuition and GIC, as well as my IELTS and Medical have all been completed, but I am out of resources to utilize. I’m scared of losing my dream again.

If you’ve read this far, I’d like to thank you. I want you to know that I promise to pay every donation and bit of help I receive forward. There will always be dreamers, held back by circumstance. And if allowed to aspire towards a better life, I will help pave the way for so many others to come after me.

Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for your support!