Submitted by Westfield Washington Schools
When we talk about our students being Life Ready, what comes to mind?
For Westfield High School senior Sara Dustova, it looks like a suitcase, a 21-hour flight, and a heart set on service.
This past summer, Sara traveled to Tajikistan to teach girls vital computer skills. There, she led workshops on coding and entrepreneurship, with a focus on independence in a country where opportunities for women are often out of reach.
“As a Tajik myself, I found my trip there to not only be academic, but also personal,” Sara said. “When I was working with these girls, who were exact mirrors of me, it made my passion grow.”
Sara knows what it’s like to dream big. For more than a year, she has poured herself into building her very own nonprofit: the Noor Nonprofit Corporation. The organization is dedicated to empowering Tajik women through technology by providing them with opportunities found here in the States. At only 17, Sara founded the organization and now serves as CEO.
“My workshops, although small, made me feel like I was slowly making the impact I wanted to create,” she said. “After a year of working to grow Noor, it felt nice to finally see some results.”
But Sara’s trip was more than just teaching. While in Tajikistan, she conducted nationwide research for a paper on women’s digital literacy. She traveled through villages gathering data, listening to voices, and uncovering the systemic gaps that keep girls from education.
The work wasn’t easy. Sara said she was surprised by parent resistance and overall apprehension.
“They simply did not want to do anything that was considered outside of social norms,” Sara recalled. “And me, a random girl coming from America, asking to interview them was definitely not a normal occurrence.”
Nonetheless, Sara adapted. She collaborated with families, created projects that felt approachable, and slowly built trust. The more she listened, the more doors opened. Sara recalled one evening that the girls participating in her program began to open up.
“I remember sitting with two girls and listening to them whisper to me all the dreams that they had,” she said. “The last thing they said was, ‘If I was born a boy I could have done all of this, but all I can do is just dream.’”
For Sara, the work isn’t done. She plans to study computer science after graduation, while also continuing to grow Noor to turn these dreams into reality.
For those girls, Sara’s workshops offered something rare: a chance to learn skills usually reserved for boys. For Sara, it offered something just as valuable: proof that acts of service can spark hope.
To learn more about Noor, go to tinyurl.com/NoorNonprofit.