It is with great sadness we share the news of the tragic loss of Sabika Sheikh, a victim in the school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas on Friday, May 19. Sabika was a well-loved and promising high school student from Pakistan who was an iEARN participant in the U.S. State Department sponsored Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program. We share our support and condolences to Sabika’s family, community, and all our program partners in the U.S., Pakistan, and globally.

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared this official statement: “I send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Sabika Sheikh, who was killed in the tragic shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, yesterday.  Sabika was in the United States on the State Department-sponsored Youth Exchange and Study program, helping to build ties between the United States and her native Pakistan. Sabika death and that of the other victims is heartbreaking and will be mourned deeply both here in the United States, and in Pakistan.”

Through the YES Program, Sabika had traveled from Pakistan to the U.S. to spend an academic year at a U.S. high school. iEARN-USA is a proud partner of the YES Program and shares its goals to promote and enhance mutual understanding and respect between the U.S. and other countries through youth exchange opportunities.

“Receiving the news of Sabika’s tragic death has been the saddest and most difficult experience of my entire career and for my team running the YES program here in Pakistan, “ said the Executive Director of iEARN Pakistan. “Sabika was ending a rewarding exchange year and we were looking forward to hearing all her stories when she returned. Our heart goes out to all the families affected by this shooting. Join me in praying for this departed soul. May Allah gives patience to her family to bear this loss.”

iEARN-USA shares in the global outpouring of support and prayer for all victims and families, and will continue to work to create mutual understanding and peace across the world in their honor.