Help On The Way For Pakistani Children Thanks to Conestoga Senior

TREDYFFRIN, PA— Traveling over 7,000 miles from home to Pakistan was a life-changer for Conestoga High School senior Hiba Samdani.

Samdani got a glimpse of what it’s really like to live in poverty while on her family vacation last summer.

“While I had always learned that people lived below the poverty line, I never truly understood or sympathized with the daily struggle they underwent until I saw it in Pakistan,” Samdani said Thursday.

“We visited rural areas, and I saw kids in T-shirts worn beyond recognition trying to provide for their family rather than go to school.”

The trip motivated Samdani to start the first Philadelphia Teen Chapter of the Citizens Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting the education of underprivileged children in Pakistan. The chapter is based at Conestoga High School.

Samdami said teenagers are great role models and can provide mentorship to teens in Pakistan through donation and being pen pals.

The teen group is hosting a picnic from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Wilson Farm Park. Basketball, music, food and games will be provided. A $5 donation is suggested.

The group hopes eventually open a school in Pakistan on behalf of the Teen Philadelphia Chapter.

Samdani said she will have QR codes and iPads available for people to donate. There will also be an arts and crafts station, where participants can decorate cards for a pen pal system and friendship bracelets for the kids in the school.

About 70 people are expected to attend.

“I’m excited for the picnic on Saturday,” Samdani said.

Samdani’s mother, Besma, whose family is from Pakistan, said she is proud of her daughter for taking the initiative to start the teen chapter.