Getting to our program site in Hunza, deep in the Karakorum mountains, requires a flight from Islamabad to Gilgit; a six-hour drive over the Karakorum Highway (KKH) that gains over 3,000 ft. of elevation and follows the winding, glacially-fed Hunza River; and a boat ride across Attabad Lake-a body of water the size of Manhattan created by the devastating landslide of 2010.

Residents of the villages of upper Hunza move seamlessly between so-called modern and traditional ways of life. Although electricity runs a few days per week, the traditional two- and three-room homes are warmed by wood and coal-fired stoves.

Many homes also have satellite television and running water, though water pipes regularly freeze in the winter and water must be hauled from the river. Gathering wood and collecting water, along with other tasks such as preparing food over wood-burning stoves is time and labor intensive, and children are often relied upon to help-their study-time divided by work-time.

Nevertheless, many parents in the Hunza region express over and over their commitment to their children's education. As one of our scholarship students explained, "My mother wouldn't let me work at home so that I could study. Now when I come home, I help teach my younger brothers and sisters and other younger students in the village."

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