Hello! My name is Aamir Iqbal. I am raising funds for my beloved niece in Pakistan, Sarah Khalid as a GoFundMe cannot be started in Pakistan. Below is Sarah's story in her own words:

Hello everyone!

My name is Sarah Khalid. I am currently finishing up my sophomore year at Habib University, Karachi. I am nervous and excited to share that I have got into Stanford University's International Honors Program. Believing in my potential, my university has placed its trust in me by funding 75% of my summer study at Stanford. Now, I need your belief and support to help me fund the rest.

I come from a very humble background. I lost my father on the 4th day of Eid-ul-Adha in the year 2023, which was a month after I was awarded a 100% merit scholarship to the top Liberal Arts university in Pakistan, Habib University. This was a devastating shock to me and my family—one that we are still recovering from today. My mother and my two sisters are still navigating this emotionally and financially after the loss of the sole breadwinner of our family.

Although, from a conservative Pathan household, My father always believed in empowering women and the importance of education for girls. I vividly remember being in 8th grade when my father was about to undergo open-heart surgery, he told my mother to make sure I didn’t miss my final exam the next morning.

After his surgery, my family’s financial conditions worsened. In 2018, my father lost all his savings to a stock market fraud. Having no other direct income then, my parents had to make the difficult decision to transfer me to a government school when they could no longer afford private schooling. This was especially hard for my family since government schools in Pakistan often lack resources and quality education.

Though it was heartbreaking, I accepted the decision knowing that education was still a privilege I couldn’t take for granted. I told myself that as long as I could keep learning, no setback could truly take my future away from me. Thankfully, my school administration and teachers saw my potential and offered me a scholarship so I could continue my studies. Later, in college, I was granted a full scholarship as well. I worked hard to prove their faith in me right, and I achieved 92% in my Intermediate exams—the highest score any student had achieved in the past decade in my college.

Now, in university, I was selected as one of the top 60 students in a pool of 4500 students to be offered a 100% merit scholarship.

My father never got to see me step into university, but his advice lives with me every day as I pursue the Computer Science minor he once encouraged me to do. By going to Stanford and taking more Computer Science courses, I want to bring his advice to life and come back to bring actual change for my people in Pakistan.

Losing my father not only shaped my academic journey but also gave me a sense of purpose to blend technology with social impact, and my own experiences showed me where to start. After his passing, I had to rely on public transport to travel to university due to my family’s financial conditions. I saw many young girls waiting at bus stops, unsure if the bus would even arrive, and I found myself struggling to understand the routes. It became clear to me that something had to change. So, For my first CS course, I built a Karachi Bus Route Navigator, a Python-based tool providing real-time bus schedules to make commuting easier. More than a project, it was my first step in using technology for real-world impact.

Now, as I prepare to attend Stanford University’s Summer Session, I want to expand my skills and continue developing tech-driven solutions that can make life better for my people in Pakistan.

Financial Situation:

Having grown up in a family with limited resources, I understand the true value of money and how rare opportunities like this are for people from backgrounds like mine. My education has only been made possible through scholarships, and though Habib University has recognized my potential with a 75% scholarship for the Stanford International Honors Program, I still need to raise $4,900 to cover the remaining costs, including travel, accommodation, and program-related fees.

This is an amount my family cannot afford, and without external support, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would remain out of reach.

Link to my funding/sponsorship proposal here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rAK7dhAUwTBY3tv2P7mLsdUB6NS0HiB8/view?usp=sharing

My Journey of becoming an HU Tops Scholar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwoxqXrU064&t=1s

How to support:

So now, I come to you with a hopeful heart to turn this dream into a reality. Every contribution, no matter how small, brings me one step closer to attending Stanford—a dream that, coming from a middle-class family, I once thought was out of reach.

I will forever be indebted to you for any generosity you show towards my journey!

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Khalid

Below is the price breakdown:

Program Dates: June 21st – August 17th, 2025

Total Estimated Cost: $19,793.00

Fee Breakdown:

Note: Go fund me also charges a transaction fee of 320$ so we need to take that into account as well.

Pakistan Bank Account Information:

MCB Bank Account

Owner: SARAH KHALID

Account number: 1505017711009593

IBAN Number: PK78MUCB1505017711009593

Sadapay Account:

Title: Sarah Khalid

Account number: 03332979458