Our Stories
See stories from the Ismaili Community around the world.
After months of excitement, anticipation, and a journey of over 6,000 miles from Salamiyah, Syria, Nuha Alaizouki and Wassim Alhammwy are finally able to call the Aga Khan Academy in Maputo, Mozambique their new home.
Today we share a story about two children, Nargis and Aziz, who celebrate the festival of Navroz with their family. Parents and grandparents may wish to read this story with children, whether in person or over a video call.
I always saw the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) as a daunting exam; nevertheless, the fact that so many students would be taking it with me physically gave me some sense of moral support, even if that support was coming from strangers.
Due to the harsh climate in Immit, Northern Pakistan, the local soils require labour-intensive work to become suitable for cultivation, and the low income earned from farming leaves no money to save, so Sharifullah began to look elsewhere for his livelihood.
Sharifullah, of Immit in Ishkoman Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan, believes prosperity lies in saving for future generations. While working as a farmer, he barely earned enough to feed his family. With some assistance, Sharifullah and his family are now on a path to progress.
"I spend a lot of time learning about my faith and trying to be an exemplary ambassador of Islam in the world,” said Aziz Nathoo, who has immersed himself in teaching, dialogue, peacemaking, tolerance, and promoting pluralism for the past 20 years.
“Education is an equalizer. All of us who are in education, we’re not in there for money. We’re there for impact,” said Shehnaz Wadhwania, currently the founding principal for Abram Agnew Elementary School in California’s Santa Clara Unified School District. Before becoming a school leader, Shehnaz followed a unique career path in education, where she felt she could make the greatest impact.
Everything is made of something. Materials science is the study of what objects are made of – from metals to ceramics and polymers – and why certain materials function the way they do. It is the science that explains why your phone charger is made of the insulator polycarbonate or why a car contains the fireproof material fiberglass in its bumpers, doors, roof, and wheels. Though materials science and engineering (MSE) is not often studied in schools, it is the foundation of all objects in our world.
A group of Ismaili students from Afghanistan and Tajikistan made the most of a difficult situation when they were unable to return home from the Aga Khan Academy in Hyderabad during the Covid-19 pandemic. With the abundance of spare time they were suddenly given, the students planned and implemented an organic farm on the school grounds.
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced teachers and students around the world to make an abrupt transition from classrooms to remote learning as schools, universities, and religious education centres were closed. Teachers redesigned lessons and adapted to the new reality of keeping students engaged virtually. Meanwhile, students adjusted to learning online without the ease of classroom interactions. Ismaili teachers and students around the world have risen to this challenge and are finding ways to embrace remote learning and tap into the opportunities it offers.
In the second round of the USA National High School Senior Online Rapid Chess Tournament, chess prodigy Danial Asaria hovered over the resign button on his computer screen. He describes the moment as being “completely dead lost.” However, since this was his final chess tournament as a high school student, he did not want to regret what could have been, so he continued to play.
Amin Bhatia and his musical composing partner Ari Posner have been nominated for the Canadian Screen Awards for the last five consecutive years, including two nominations this year for Canadian TV shows. However, with no wins to show from the previous years, Amin wasn’t expecting to win this year.