In case you are wondering by now; “how did Malee get to know Sister Zeph ? Why did she go to Pakistan? Who is she?!” Malee met Sister Zeph online one day when she was following Malala Yousafzai on Facebook. Malala had posted a documentary about Sister Zeph and her school and it was called “Flight of the Falcons: Bring our Girls Back”. Malee saw that Sister Zeph was online and immediately reached out to her and from there a relationship formed. That was in March 2016 and almost exactly one year later Malee flew to Pakistan to visit the school.
“We had so much fun dancing, singing and admiring each others clothing as well as getting to know each other better.”
This was the girls first painting even though Malee had already been teaching them art lessons for a year at that point.
This is how Malee first bonded with the girls and formed a relationship with Sister Zeph and the school. She taught art classes to the student every other weekend. Recently they have taken a break and Malee will take on new students come January 2019.
“During my visit I explored Gujranwala a little bit as well as other villages and cities like Lahore and Islamabad”
Left to right
(below): a women in Sister Zephs village, Malee visiting another village and washing her hands at a well, Malee receiving a gift from Sister Zeph’s mother and Malee posing with student at Zeph center.
Below is video of Malee exploring Lahore with Sister Zeph and showing the city scapes.
“During my visit I taught what I could to the girls about the differences in grammar between Urdu and English”
Below is the unveiling of a new banner that is hanging in the skills center now at Zeph Center
“We visited different homes and areas that I would have never seen on a documentary. We entered a house for sale that was very high end and there were these two young children there that were the children of laborers in the area. They seemed sad so we talked to them but they would not speak.”
“I have given speeches to the women about me, my visit, America and more. I wanted them to feel in their hearts that I came in peace and only was there for them”
“I visited with the women at the beauty salon and the stitching center to get a better feel for their daily lives and duties”
“I was connected with a woman named Michele before my two trips to Pakistan and she is trained as a black belt in karate. Because of her teaching me basic self defense techniques and assertiveness I was able to pass that one to some of the students at the center. She now teaches self defense to the girls at Zeph center.”
Click the link below to see more of Malee’s trip to Pakistan in 2016