The END7 student community is growing into a global movement of young advocates dedicated to seeing the end of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by raising awareness and funds in their schools and communities. This month, we are proud to share a reflection from our January student of the month, Zoya Shahid. Zoya, a marketing student, has spent the past two months building a community of END7 supporters at the Institute of Business Management in Karachi, Pakistan. Her passion for the NTD cause earned her a position on the newly-created END7 Student Advisory Board and has fueled her considerable accomplishments since she first learned about END7 just a few months ago.

Zoya shares, “The first time I came across END7 was when I saw the “” video. Immediately, I shared the link and began to discuss how we could bring this great cause to my country, my city, my university, and my region. My mentors then helped me gain access to student societies that we could work with to do fundraisers and advocacy sessions. For the past two months, we have been advocating for this cause at IOBM and on social media to make sure that the people in the region understand what NTDs are and how they affect us as a society. We are also planning a fundraiser at IOBM in February. I have been focused on how to make the cause more marketable and have used social media to reach a range of young people who are willing to do fundraisers and advocacy all over South Asia.” Zoya certainly has been an active advocate for END7 on social media, sharing our materials and encouraging her friends to participate in the recent #StopSTHChat organized by Johnson & Johnson on Twitter.

She continues, “I think that my passion for this cause comes from my grandmother. My intense belief in helping those in need and the idea of doing whatever you can to help people, regardless of their colour and creed, has been cultivated in me by her. I do believe that if my grandmother hadn’t been such an influential person in my life, I would not have this amount of passion for this cause. The choice to be associated with END7 might have been mine, but I believe that the source of that choice is my grandmother.”

We are so grateful for Zoya’s commitment to END7 and are excited to see our grow under her leadership. If you are ready to get your school involved in END7’s work, contact student coordinator Emily on or at to learn how you can get started!