We are thrilled to share the news that five of our oldest children graduated from College in 2015. We will introduce you to all of them, one at a time. Today, we would like you to meet a GiveLight scholar, Alfin Nur who recently completed his studies from the prestigious Al-Azhar in Cairo, the oldest University in the world.
The deadly 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean left thousands of children orphaned. Alfin, now 22 years old was one of them along with his brother, older brother Zaki and sister Afra. They lost both of their parents and a sibling who was 7 years old. Their bodies drowned in the ocean and were never found. This huge personal loss led Alfin to us. And after ten years of supporting him, we can not be happier to share his success story with you all our wonderful supporters.
GiveLight began to take care of Alfin when he was 13 years old and attending 7th grade. Our founder Dian Alyan first met with Alfin and Zaki at her parent’s home in Aceh. From that very first meeting she knew that both of them have tremendous potential and decided to invest in them long term. Alfin chose to study in a boarding school in Banda Aceh and we took care of his food, clothing, tuition, books and everything he needed to have access to good quality education. We have relatives and volunteers who stay in touch with him on a regular basis to make sure that his needs for emotional support were also met. Due to his high marks and determination, he got a scholarship to Al Azhar University in 2012 and we continued to support him in providing food and cost for his living expenses.
Dian corresponds with Alfin regularly via email, Facebook and he always asks her to pray for success in all his exams. We asked Alfin to share his experience as one of our children, he wrote the following:
“When I joined GiveLight, I felt really happy that I would receive the support I needed to pursue my studies. I worked hard and I was able to achieve high marks in all subjects. I recently completed my advanced teaching degree at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Since I was a student without a regular income, GiveLight supported me by providing him an apartment as well as an allowance for things such as books and other necessities.
I would like to show my appreciation to GiveLight now that I am an adult and a college graduate. I want to support GiveLight in its effort to provide home and education for orphans around the world, in the spirit of the hadith as narrated by Sahl ibn Sa’d: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The one who cares for an orphan and myself will be together in Paradise like this,” and he held his two fingers together to illustrate.
May God bless GiveLight and ‘Bunda’ (mother) Dian with continued success in providing education and homes to orphans around the world.”
His success story is a testament to our belief that every child when loved and cared for can thrive and reach her/his fullest potential. We look forward to seeing him achieve his next dreams and make a positive impact in society. We know that he will do great things and give back to his Givelight family. He shines like a star and graduated with honor, making all of us really proud. The photo above is a group picture from his graduation and we hope you too share our joy and best wishes for his bright future.
Below is a personal video we recently received from Alfin and we are thrilled to share it with you!
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