Nafees grew up watching his father work hard as a daily wage labourer and earn just enough to feed his family two times.

As soon as Nafees finished school, he started looking for a job. “Even though I am the youngest, I knew I had to share my father’s responsibilities. My eldest brother is deaf since birth and has had almost no education. The second one lost his leg in a road accident. Abbu borrowed lots of money for his treatment, but he is still unable to walk”, he shares.

Finding a job was not easy for Nafees – he knew no English, could hardly use a computer and got extremely nervous while talking to strangers. It was while returning from an unsuccessful job interview that Nafees stopped to watch a street play being organized by Smile Foundation’s STeP programme. Nafees immediately enrolled himself.

Today, Nafees has a permanent job with a decent salary and adds substantially to his family income. He has already started paying off his father’s debts and has also joined a graduation course.

Smile Foundation’s STeP programme provides market-oriented skill training and placement support to less privileged youth from urban slums. So far, STeP has trained more than 22,600 youth and placed over 14,500 young men and women. Besides dignified livelihood for the youth, STeP also helps their families come out of the endless cycle of poverty and suffering.

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