Mubashir Iftikhar, 28, is an engineer.

I grew up in Lahore, the youngest of five. My father was a medical representative at a pharmaceutical company, so at first, I received a private education.

Things went upside down when my father had to leave his job due to poor health.

With all five of us studying in different schools, it was difficult for my father to pay all of our living expenses and tuition fees. I was taken out of private school and put into a government one.

Luckily, the school was adopted by the CARE Foundation. A teacher there motivated me to move forward with my studies, and kept me on track. He saw my potential. I worked hard because of that push and achieved top marks. I was then awarded CARE scholarship for intermediate studies. That was a huge support for me and my family. I completed my F.Sc pre-engineering and scored well. I qualified for another CARE scholarship for undergraduate studies.  I completed B.Sc. in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology.

So many people are not able to continue their studies because of their financial limitations, and they give up on their dreams. CARE Foundation has a big impact on my life, I don’t think I would have excelled in my career without their support.

I work as an engineer at a home appliances manufacturing company – Pak Electron Limited (PEL) in Lahore in the quality control department. I have been working with the same company for the past six and a half years. Two years ago, I completed an MBA program to help me get to the top in my field.

Right now, Pakistan is facing difficulties. There is political instability, inflation and issues which are pretty complex. These are hard times; everyone is struggling to make ends meet. But I believe that there will be better days. Education plays an important role in bringing a country out of crisis. We are a population of about 230 million. If all are educated, and everyone plays their part and contributes to the economy, we can innovate and do wonders.