By Noreen Asim

As a child, my dreams were clear and bold. I wanted to be on television — a familiar face, a trusted voice. Good grades were my ticket. Lahore felt full of possibility, and a degree in Mass Media felt like the right road forward.

But life had other plans.

While studying, I started working with vulnerable children at CTF Homes. I thought it would be a small, temporary part of my life. It became the most important part.

I had no special training, no experience working with children in need. I came with nothing but time and willingness. What I found there slowly changed everything — the way I thought about success, about purpose, and about what truly matters.

Sania was one of the first children who truly reached my heart. She was 21, but Short-term memory and special needs, she experienced the world with the openness of a young child. When I first met her, she barely left her room. It took days of gentle conversation before she trusted me enough to step outside. When she finally did, she hugged me so tight, and for a long time as if she had been waiting for that moment her whole life. That hug has never left me. It was a quiet reminder that every person, no matter their age or ability, needs to feel safe and loved.

Then there is Dawood. When I first met him, he spoke to no one. He sat apart, watching the world from a distance. Slowly, he started coming to find me, his small visits, a few quiet words, a shared moment. Then came the laughter. Today, he is one of the most lively and naughty children at CTF Homes full of mischief and joy. He comes to my room and shares his small hopes and dreams, as if I am his mother.

Albert Schweitzer once said that the purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.” Mother Teresa believed it is not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.

Now close your eyes for a moment. Imagine your own child — two or three years old — eating unhygienic food, or sand, simply because there is nothing else. Imagine them with no warm clothes, no one to hold them at night. What does that feel like to you?

That feeling, that ache is exactly what drew me deeper into this work and kept me there.

Sania now knows what is good and what is bad. She talks, she responds, she engages with the world around her. And Dawood, the boy who once never spoke lives a cherished life full of hope and laughter. These are not small things.

These are lives unfolding.

I believe that coming to CTF Homes, and living alongside these children, was never a coincidence. They needed me — and in ways I did not fully understand at the time, I needed them just as much. Their lives have changed mine forever.

It is only in helping others that we discover the best of ourselves.

As I continue my journey at CTF Homes, balancing my studies, my responsibilities at CTF Homes, I hope to inspire many others to reach out and make a difference. My story with Sania and Dawood, is not just a tale of charity, it’s a narrative of hope, love and transformative-power of human connection.