He Topped His Class. Then Poverty Called Him Back.

Noor Rehman stood at the beginning of his Class 3 classroom, holding his school grades with shaking hands. Number one. Another time. His instructor grinned with pride. His schoolmates cheered. For a brief, wonderful moment, the nine-year-old boy imagined his aspirations of being a soldier—of protecting his country, of making his parents proud—w

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