PESHAWAR: When his five sisters were at school age, Arab Shah was not able to support them. Now that he drives an auto-rickshaw, he devotes his time and modest means to help the sisters and daughters of others receive a proper education.
In Pir Bala on the outskirts of Peshawar, the 29-year-old rickshaw driver takes to school girls from his village.
“I regret I couldn’t be supportive of my sisters in their schooling,” he told Arab News on Tuesday while cleaning his vehicle and getting ready to work. “For spiritual satisfaction, I want to spend my earnings, time and all belongings for the education of poor girls in my village.”
Before starting his day, Arab Shah cleans his vehicle in front of his family home in Pir Bala, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Jan. 21, 2020 (AN photo)
With the auto-rickshaw he rents for Rs5,000 a month, Shah supports over 100 schoolgirls from his neighborhood by driving them to school and back home after classes, free of charge.
Kashmala Ilyas, an eighth-grader whose father works as a watchman at a marble factory, says that “bhaijan” (older brother) Shah is a blessing. “For the past three years, without paying a single rupee, I was able to be at school without any delay,” she said.
When he started in 2014, Shah’s family was not very enthusiastic. But now he is a village hero and elder brothers have taken responsibility for the household, giving him the freedom to continue the voluntary service. “I take my mother to school and madrassa functions, there she receives messages of gratitude, which makes her proud,” he said.
In the beginning, Shah was only giving free school rides to three of his poorer neighbors, but he soon realized that many more need it or they would not be able to attend school at all. He now starts his day at 7:00 a.m. with a series of school trips. When children have classes, he works as a regular driver to earn for gas and his rickshaw rent. In the afternoon, he picks up his young passengers and drives them back to their homes. When some of them need to attend at a local madrassa in the after-school time, they can also rely on him.
When all children are already done with their tuition, Shah goes back to the roads of Peshawar to make sure he can earn enough to keep the rickshaw.
Arab Shah receives a recognition award from Zia Ullah Bangash, the then education adviser to the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in Peshawar of Aug. 6, 2019. (Photo courtesy: Arab Shah)
“It is becoming difficult with jumping fuel prices, so I work till late night to manage it,” he said.
Shah believes transportation is the biggest obstacle to women’s education in his region. “It hurts me when girls stop going to school after eighth grade,” he said, expressing hope that one day he will be able to buy a bigger vehicle to do more.
Misri Khan, the mother of a girl whom Shah regularly took to a madrassa, always keeps him in her prayers as her daughter has just completed religious courses. “It wouldn’t be possible without Arab Shah’s commitment. We pray for him to get his own bigger vehicle and help the poor in the neighborhood.”
Abdul Salam, 23, who works as a welder, has his five sisters brought to school every day by Shah. “Arab Shah is a great man he really reduced the burden on me, our family is grateful to him,” he said. “When it’s is raining, cold or scorching hot, my sisters always reach their school thanks to him.”
Shah’s efforts were noticed beyond his community. In August, a former adviser on education to the KP chief minister, Zia Ullah Bangash, presented him with a recognition shield and prize.
