Hello everyone, I’m Noor Qureshi, a 19 year old girl who lives in Toronto, Canada. I am entering my second year at Western University. In my free time I like to play sports, travel, read and hang out with my friends. My career goals and aspirations include working in healthcare primarily with children all around the world. Growing up, religion was a very huge part of my life. As a muslim, charity and kindness towards others are the principles and foundation of Islam. My parents, friends and teachers have always pushed me towards realizing the significance of gratitude and the importance of always lending a helping hand to those who need it the most. As someone who was born, visited and has a lot of family residing in a country that still has a majority of its population living under the poverty line, Pakistan, I know the hardships an average person like you and I have to go through to become more than a statistic, earn a decent living and receive education. I have thought about making this non profit organization for as long as I can remember. I always wanted to do more than the bare minimum but couldn’t think of a way how. So many factors led me to believe that I wasn’t capable of making a significant change by myself and left me watching all the recent events in the world unfold before me. Feeling useless and helpless. We live in such a fast paced world where we are constantly thinking about what to check off on our “To do list” next. We don’t live in the present and it has made human beings lose compassion and humanity towards one another. We made it normal to find joy within materialistic items while our brothers and sisters starve in a different part of the world. If an issue isn’t directly affecting each and everyone of us, it has become as easy as closing a tab to look away and pretend it’s not happening, especially if it makes us uncomfortable. The last few months in quarantine have forced me to slow down and to really think about my goals in life. What can I offer to this world? Why have I not done anything? These questions weren’t simple to answer and definitely forced me to learn a lot about myself. It made me redefine my perception of friendship, love, and change. This whole time I wanted to do something more yet never had the courage. Until now.
Penpals4Peace was an idea that was just going to be a small project for myself where I would try to connect with a child in a country affected by war and poverty and see how I could mentor and aid them to reach their academic potential. The more i thought about it, I realized that there are so many kids who need this mentorship and who need these resources to help them succeed. I couldn’t do it by myself. That is how this organization began and turned into what it is now. Our current initiatives include a clothing/toy drive, a mentorship program via pen pals and a breakfast program for malnutritioned kids before their classes begin in the morning. This will all be funded through donations, events, merchandise and fundraisers that we will be coordinating. My vision for this organization is not constrained to monetary value and numbers, it is for how many lives we can better and how many dreams we can help achieve.
This is for anyone who wants to begin a new chapter, initiative or project in their lives but doesn’t know how. Take the time to slow down and focus on yourself, your goals and aspirations. Feel the emotions you need to feel and don’t push them away. Most importantly believe in yourself and take that first step.
There is pain, suffering, hardships and tears. Mountains that some must climb for years before they can see the road getting any better on the other side. However, there is also happiness, love and change. These are all things we can give others by the simplest gestures. We must all actively hold ourselves accountable for how we educate and push one another to be better people than who we are now. Enjoy the ride!
email: noorxqureshi@gmail.com
Hello, my name is Naadira Shivapurapu, and I am 19 year old who lives in Toronto, Canada. I am currently pursuing a business degree at McMaster University. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, baking, and painting. My career goals would consist of working in a business setting while also incorporating parts of social justice and social work. From a young age, my parents embedded the idea of kindness into me and it has sculpted me into the person that I am today. Being born in the United Arab Emirates and moving to Canada, it was hard to me to adapt at first but slowly I got used to the lifestyle here. Once moving here, I had a realization. My parents had the ability to pick up and move from Dubai to give me a better life. Many families around the world don't have the same opportunities to just leave and that has made me grateful for the life that I have been given. Since I am older now, the thought of me moving to Canada has been in my mind more recently. What if my parents decided to stay? What if we were never allowed to leave? I opened my eyes to this and wanted to make a change. By understanding the privilege that we have is the first step to fixing the problem. The fact that I'm in a nice home being able to start a project like this makes me eternally grateful. By using this power I have now discovered, I want to help make a change whether it be big or small. I'm tired of seeing Instagram stories and posts and feeling like that's the most that I can do. Which makes me realize, if I am tired of just seeing posts imagine how tired the people are who are living it?
Penpals4Peace was an idea curated by my bestfriend, Noor. We both are very vocal about our political and social beliefs and knew there needed to be change. Informing our small amount of Instagram followers was good, but not great. We wanted to do more. We wanted to make a permanent change. With Penpals4Peace, we can help turn our vision into reality. By having many programs and initiatives to help these kids lives, it will lead them to academic success. This is just the beginning and we are so excited to invite you guys on the journey with us as well!
email: sam.n.shivapurapu@gmail.com
Learn more about our upcoming events, fundraisers, and more!