Noor Rehman was standing at the front of his Class 3 classroom, carrying his school grades with trembling hands. Number one. Yet again. His instructor smiled with pride. His schoolmates applauded. For a brief, precious moment, the nine-year-old boy believed his ambitions of being a soldier—of defending his nation, of making his parents pleased—were achievable.
That was 90 days ago.
Currently, Noor doesn't attend school. He's helping his father in the woodworking shop, mastering to polish furniture in place of learning mathematics. His uniform remains in the wardrobe, unused but neat. His books sit piled in the corner, their pages no longer flipping.
Noor passed everything. His household did their absolute best. And still, it fell short.
This is the tale of how being poor goes beyond limiting opportunity—it removes it entirely, even for the most talented children who do what's expected and more.
Despite Excellence Is Not Adequate
Noor Rehman's parent toils as a craftsman in Laliyani village, a compact community in Kasur region, Punjab, Pakistan. He is proficient. He is hardworking. He exits home before sunrise and comes back after dark, his hands calloused from decades of crafting wood into products, frames, and decorative pieces.
On productive months, he receives 20,000 Pakistani rupees—about 70 dollars. On challenging months, considerably less.
From that income, Education his family of six members must cover:
- Housing costs for their modest home
- Groceries for four
- Services (electric, water, fuel)
- Healthcare costs when children become unwell
- Travel
- Clothes
- Other necessities
The math of being poor are basic and harsh. There's never enough. Every coin is earmarked before receiving it. Every decision is a decision between essentials, not once between essential items and comfort.
When Noor's tuition came due—plus costs for his siblings' education—his father confronted an insurmountable equation. The figures couldn't add up. They never do.
Something had to be sacrificed. Someone had to forgo.
Noor, as the first-born, understood first. He is dutiful. He is sensible beyond his years. He knew what his parents were unable to say explicitly: his education was the expense they could not any longer afford.
He didn't cry. He did not complain. He simply arranged his attire, set aside his textbooks, and requested his father to show him carpentry.
Since that's what kids in poverty learn from the start—how to abandon their dreams quietly, without burdening parents who are currently carrying greater weight than they can sustain.