A Refugee to D-Watson Cashier – A. Basit’s Story

A. Basit is an Afghan refugee, one of three brothers and 2 sisters. His family migrated from Takhar, Afghanistan, to Pakistan in the year 2000. Once in Islamabad, they settled in the PK-3 community. The family lived in a modest, single-room brick house with a rusted tin roof that rattled loudly whenever it rained. There was no gas connection, no reliable electricity, and no running water. Poverty was not a temporary phase in Basit’s life; it was his daily reality. His father worked as a taxi driver, struggling to meet the family’s basic needs.

Like many children in the community around him, Basit did not attend school as his father simply could not afford it. While other children of his age carried schoolbags, Basit spent his early childhood roaming the streets or helping his mother with small household tasks. One day as he was walking to a nearby garbage dump carrying a large plastic bag in his tiny hands to begin his daily search for anything useful that he could sell for a few rupees, he saw a group of children walking past carrying books in their hands. Among them were his cousins, Abdullah and Wahab. Curious and confused, Basit wiped his hands on his shirt and ran toward Abdullah. “Oye! Where are you going with books in your hand?” he asked, out of breath. “School,” Abdullah replied with a smile. “School? You go to school now?” Basit asked in disbelief. Instead of answering, Abdullah gently took Basit by the hand and walked him straight to school. There he stood Basit in front of his teacher, Madam Shaila. Basit clearly remembers even today what the teacher said. “That one sentence: ‘Come, sit in the class’, is the reason I am educated today,” he says. That single gesture changed everything.

Pehli Kiran School No. 3 (PKS-3) was a small, shed school. It was simple yet it was full of learning. The teacher welcomed him without hesitation and gave him a pencil and a few sheets of paper to write on. Here Basit learned how to hold a pencil properly. He recalls that it may seem insignificant to others, but to him it felt like he was holding a new life in his hands. He started attending school regularly, while he still picked garbage in the mornings. Slowly he learned the alphabet, basic mathematics, and how to read simple Urdu sentences. He didn’t have his own books at first, so he borrowed them from cousins and classmates. Several years later, once he completed his primary education from PKS-8, the Pehli Kiran team facilitated his admission into a government school for secondary schooling. Slowly but surely, his world began to expand beyond trash heaps and street corners.

But life tested him once again at age sixteen when his father fell seriously ill. With no money for proper treatment, Basit had to begin work at a scrap shop in the community. But he never complained. The lessons he learned at Pehli Kiran stayed with him. He rested little, worked hard and kept moving forward with quiet determination. After completing college, Basit searched for full time work. One day, he received a call for an interview. The next morning, he walked to the D-Watson (Pharmacy) Office. He was a little nervous, but hopeful as he kept repeating to himself, “Bas hosla nahi khona” (just don’t lose courage). During the interview he spoke honestly about his life struggles and his desire to learn. He was hired for an entry-level job at a nearby D-Watson pharmacy.

From his very first day, he gave his best to his job. He arrived early, stayed late, and learned everything he could. Basit watched, listened, and asked questions. His hard work and dedication paid off and over time he was promoted to a cashier’s position. He currently works as a full-time cashier at a D-Watson pharmacy and feels proud that he can financially support his family. His younger siblings are now enrolled in Pehli Kiran Schools, just like he once was. At night when he is lying in his small room Basit often thinks about that fateful morning near the garbage dump and the moment that unknowingly led him into a PKS classroom and changed the entire direction of his life. His story reminds us that success does not always begin with money or big degrees. Sometimes, it begins with a pencil and a helping hand like Pehli Kiran Schools.