Team Bertho

Strength is not about never falling, rather it’s about getting back from lots of hardships, struggles never giving up. As a student, I face difficulties and challenges doing my schoolwork, exams, and personal responsibilities. Sometimes from there I cried that it's enough; I can’t do them, then a voice came from my soul that you can do it, just the things is believe in yourself…
So I'm moving on.

In 2023, I lost my dad. I was 12 when that was the biggest heartbreak in my whole life. I thought my life had ended here, with no more going, but I’m still alive with memories. I faced lots of hardship during this but the thing is, I never gave up. I know after lots of hardship and lots of difficulties, there is a big thing for me. The things just to believe in yourself.

I have learned not to give up on yourself, on your dreams. Every difficulty, every hardship has helped me grow, become more responsible, more patient, more confident, and thankful to the one who appreciated me in my hardest times. I have learned success will not come to you overnight; rather, you need to go to success every day, every challenge, every difficulty you need to face.

(Fatima Akbar, 17, Pakistan)

I was born and raised in Village Fazal Muhammad Kapri, Jhuddo, District Mirpurkhas, Sindh. I grew up in a family where standing against injustice was not just encouraged it was a way of life. My late father was a poet, playwright, and political activist who believed deeply in equality and education. In a community where many girls were not allowed to continue their studies, he ensured that all his daughters received an education and the freedom to dream beyond traditional expectations. As I grew older, I witnessed many social issues affecting people around me, including gender discrimination, child marriage, violence against women, poverty, and the lack of educational opportunities in rural areas. At the same time, I saw how people often remained silent because they feared social pressure or believed nothing could change.

In 2018, I discovered hip-hop through my brother Mohammad Kapri. I soon realized that rap could be more than music it could be a tool for resistance, awareness, and social change. Together, we founded Panjhi Gang and began using our songs to speak about issues that are often ignored. Through music, community work, and advocacy for girls' education and women's rights, I learned that even a single voice can challenge deeply rooted norms.

The conviction that drives me comes from seeing how courage creates impact. Every time someone speaks up against injustice, supports a girl's education, or challenges harmful traditions, they open the door for others to do the same. That belief continues to guide both my art and my activism.

(Urooj Fatima Kapri, 24, Pakistan)

I grew up in a rural area of Sindh, Pakistan, where climate disasters became a recurring part of life. My family and community have faced immense challenges due to floods, poverty, and limited access to resources. One of my earliest and most painful memories is the devastating flood of 2011. I was in 7th grade when the floodwaters arrived. Our home and village were severely affected, and my family spent nearly five months living on the roadside. My education was disrupted, and everyday life became a struggle for survival.

The floods affected my family deeply, especially my sister, who was living with a disability. Access to healthcare, safety, and basic necessities became even more difficult. As a child, watching my family and community suffer left a lasting impact on me. The flood of 2011 was not the last disaster we faced. We continued to experience floods and climate related hardships in 2020, 2022, and 2024. Each disaster brought new losses, uncertainty, and challenges.

Yet through these experiences, I learned that even in the face of hardship, we have a responsibility to stand up for our communities. Instead of allowing these struggles to silence me, they inspired me to take action. I began raising awareness about climate change, girls education, and social justice in my area. I founded the Climate Action Movement Sindh to educate communities about climate resilience and environmental awareness. I also started the Aurat Sujaag Initiative, a grassroots feminist initiative that works on gender equality, women's rights, sustainability, human rights, and community empowerment.

I’ve come to understand that resilience is not simply about surviving difficult times, it is about transforming pain into purpose. The challenges I have faced have strengthened my commitment to creating a future where women, girls, and vulnerable communities can live with dignity, equality, and hope.

(Khanzadi Kapri, 29, Pakistan)

In every corner of the world, Eid arrives differently. In some homes through crowded dinner tables, in others through quiet prayers, long phone calls, familiar laughter, and memories that return softly at night. Yet somehow, it always reminds us of the same thing. We belong to one another.

At Team Bertho, we have spent years listening to stories across borders, cultures, and generations. And if there’s one thing humanity continues to teach us, it is this: even in a divided world, kindness still finds its way back home.

This Eid, may we hold our loved ones a little closer, make space for gentleness in our lives, and remember the people who may need warmth the most.

Thank you for continuing to walk beside us, for believing in compassion, and for helping us build a world where stories make strangers feel less alone.

Eid Mubarak from Team Bertho to you and your loved ones. 🤍

A women, women are incredibly delicate, but only as long as they are treated with love and respect. If fate leads them to someone who neither values nor understands them. This delicate woman turns into stone.

To this world, a woman is always considered wrong, even if the mistake is the man’s. Yet the blame always falls on the woman. According to the people. “He is a man." No one can say anything to him. And his reputation won’t be tarnished because he is a man. Why can’t we say the same for women?

(Farah Ayoub, 19, Pakistan)

I started working at a very young age, around 12 or 13, so life made me grow up earlier than most people around me. I explored many different things while trying to understand myself, my strengths, and what I truly wanted to do in life. It was not always easy, and there were times when things felt uncertain, but I kept believing that everything happens for a reason.

Over time, I realized that whenever I genuinely wanted something and worked for it with a positive mindset, life slowly guided me toward it. That is one of the reasons I strongly believe in manifestation and faith. I also noticed that whenever I spread happiness, helped others, or simply tried to be kind, life always gave that energy back to me in unexpected ways.

Eventually, while exploring different paths, I recognized that creativity and art were my strongest abilities, and that is how my journey in illustration and design began. Looking back now, I feel like every difficult phase taught me something valuable and shaped me into the person I am today.

(Mehar Afroz, 25, Pakistan)

In a society that demands we shrink ourselves, our needs, our freedom, our thoughts, and our opinions, taking up space where possible is a profound act of resistance. As the first woman in my parental family to pursue a career, continuing to work has been an everyday fight.

My work in feminist storytelling, and monitoring and evaluation for health rights advocacy has shown me the strength in initiating conversations and unapologetically speaking for change in systems that push us to the margins. This was especially evident in my recent campaign, Saheli Aangun, where I conversed with women from across South Asia about their menopausal journeys.

A simple invitation to participate became a way of holding a collective safe space for bigger discourse, where they poured their hearts out about untold experiences and how it continues to affect them. In this process, we found allies, sisters, comrades, and support, showing how one sentence can ripple into a continued dialogue that brings solidarity, care, conversation, and long-due attention. Believing in your instincts, upholding your morals, and wherever possible, speaking up in the face of structures that benefit from our silent complicity paves the way for growth for not only yourself but for others.

(Eman Asif, 25, Pakistan)

I love you maa. Thank you for embracing us as a part of your identity and sorry for each time you had to let go of a fragment of your individuality to be our mother.

People say a mother is someone who gives birth, but you taught me that a real mother is someone who gives love. You may not have given me life, Mom, but you gave me a home within your heart.

The Art Activism for Systemic Reform workshop, under the Global Youth Development Programme by Team Bertho, was held on May 4, 2026.

The session was led by Ally Zlatar, an artist, scholar, and activist, and founder of The Starving Artist initiative. The session aimed to equip participants with strategies to use creative expression as a tool for advocacy and systemic reform, helping them understand how art empowers lived experiences, challenges stereotypes, and addresses critical issues including health equity, migration, and disability activism.