Nothing can light a fire under a cause quite as quickly as an entrepreneur driven by passion.  If you speak truth and dedicate yourself to the grindstone, the world will stop and listen.

Shiza Shahid is perhaps as dedicated as they come. As a teen, she spent her free time volunteering and was already an activist of several different causes. Time went by, she attended Stanford University and afterwards started at a job in Dubai as a business analyst. During this period of time, Shiza kept up to date with news from her home country, but things looked pretty grim. Between the period of 2007 and 2009 the Taliban had taken control of Pakistan and, due to their beliefs, bombed nearly 2,000 schools for girls.

“When I grew up in Pakistan it was pretty safe; I used to cycle outside,”  She stated.

“I felt like home was being robbed from me. It was a very, very broken place.”

Not to long after reading about the atrocities, Shiza viewed a documentary by BBC about an 11 year old girl named Malala. The documentary talked about the struggle Malala faced in a realm where an education was hard to come by and even dangerous to pursue. Heartbroken for the girl, Shiza kept up to date with news on the issue until she received word in 2012 that Malala had been shot by a Taliban member on a school bus.

Shiza flew to London were Malala was hospitalized and the two became fast friends. The girl, now 15, stated that she wanted to continue her campaign in hopes that one day girls like her will not have to be fearful when it came to getting an education. Shortly after, ‘The Malala Fund’ was created and the young entrepreneur worked tirelessly to make sure it achieved the proper support, eventually bringing on a a board of advisers.

Their goal is to offer a safe, 12 years of quality education to girls, and they’re well on their way.

– Read more about the Malala fund or Donate at www.malala.org