“I remember the Tree of Life activity that was conducted by Dream A Dream at my school, I remember this activity because it was the first time I was made to think about what I wanted to be”.

Shafiya Khanuma is a 20-year-old whose journey at Dream a Dream started off when she was pursuing her 7th standard at Excellent English School where she was a part of many workshops; reminiscing her first workshop she shares “I remember the Tree of Life activity that was conducted by Dream A Dream at my school, I remember this activity because it was the first time I was made to think about what I wanted to be”.
Shafiya comes from a family of 5 which includes her father, mother, brother and 2 sisters. Her father has mental health issues due to which he was unable to continue to work as a tailor and her mother looks after her family’s needs full time. Shafiya’s brother works as a mechanic and is the sole bread winner to the family. Shafiya takes on part time jobs when possible to support her family
After her brief journey with Dream a Dream in her school, she learnt about the Career Connect Centre run by Dream a Dream and joined the Life Skill development programme where spoken English is used as a medium to develop life skills.
Recollecting her sessions Shafiya expressed “When I joined the spoken English sessions, I lacked confidence and it was difficult for me to express myself to others. Even in college, I spoke only to my circle of friends and didn’t interact with others in the spoken English sessions. I participated in a lot of role plays and took on many leadership roles which helped me with my confidence and also help me interact with others in a better way”.
Shafiya has received scholarship support from Dream a Dream from past 3 years “My brother is the only earning member in my family; my sister just got married we had to spend a lot on the wedding, my other sister just completed her studies and is looking for a job there is a lot of pressure on my brother financially the scholarships from Dream a Dream help me pay my fee and reduce the burden on my brother”.
Shafiya also supports her family by tailoring and applying Henna designs in weddings and functions. She states “I knew how to stitch and how to apply mehendi but I was not satisfied with my work until Dream a Dream gave me an opportunity to perfect my skills by means of the skill development sessions and also taught me how to market myself to my customers this helped me taken on more orders and expand my customer base. My dream is to be a stylist who can stitch, provide makeup services and also apply mehendi “.
During the lockdown Shafiya got an opportunity to really explore her skills as an entrepreneur. She started sharing her work on social media through Whatsapp. People started recognising her work and she started receiving many mehendi orders and dress orders for marriages during the lockdown.
Due to lockdown, most parlours were closed and Shafiyya gained more opportunities through referrals. The demand for her work multiplied.
She is experimenting with designing of bridal dresses using her mother’s old sarees to promote sustainable fashion.
Shafiya’s confidence in her skills and her attitude of resilience has helped her in creating a means of livelihood out of her passions that also allows her to support her family.
“My brother is the only earning member in my family; my sister just got married we had to spend a lot on the wedding, my other sister just completed her studies and is looking for a job there is a lot of pressure on my brother financially the scholarships from Dream a Dream help me pay my fee and reduce the burden on my brother”.