By A Ahmed

Copyright gulfnews

Dubai: From charming the internet with tales of everyday village life to reshaping the future of his entire community, six-year-old Muhammad Shiraz has become a beacon of hope in Pakistan’s far north village of Gilgit Baltistan mountain region.Shiraz, one of Pakistan’s youngest and most popular YouTubers, alongside his spirited sister Muskan, has used his social media earnings to transform his remote village school in his small village Ghursay into a modern educational institution. The school, now named Zaki Academy, stands as a symbol of what compassion, community spirit and digital influence can achieve..Viral fame Shiraz shot to fame in early 2024 when his light-hearted vlogs about village life, fetching water, playing with goats, navigating stony streets and celebrating local festivals, captured the imagination of viewers around the world. His broken Urdu, infectious smile and playful storytelling, often featuring Muskan, quickly won millions of followers across YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Shiraz has 2.2 million followers on Instagram, 2.4 million followers on Facebook and 1.8 million on YouTube. .Pakistani child star Umer Shah dies after cardiac arrest at 15, celebrities express shock and grief .Their father, Muhammad Taqi, who is also a vlogger, revealed how the journey towards building a school began. In one of his early videos, Taqi showed the village’s children studying outdoors, without uniforms, shoes or basic facilities. The family even considered moving to Islamabad for a better life..“Ghursay is far in Gilgit-Baltistan, and there are very few basic facilities. Allah has given Shiraz fame, and so I had two options: either I move to Islamabad for a better life, or stay here and work to make our village better. We chose to stay,” he told local media.Birth of Zaki AcademyWhile Shiraz and Muskan invested their own social media earnings, the dream took shape through the support of benefactors Fauzia Zaki and her niece Zehra Zaidi, who helped buy land, build classrooms and provide modern learning facilities.Named in honour of Fauzia’s father and grandfather, Captain Mohammed Zaki, the new Zaki Academy now offers spacious classrooms, safe learning spaces, recreational areas and proper educational resources to local children, a first for the 2,000 residents of Ghursay.Beyond education, Fauzia and Zehra have also helped install solar panels, build a small dam, provide clean drinking water, and set up basic health care support with an ambulance and medical supplies — initiatives that are slowly lifting the entire village’s quality of life.Shiraz’s message of hopeDespite his tender age and stardom, Shiraz carries a message far bigger than himself. Shiraz has already received YouTube’s coveted Gold Play Button for surpassing one million subscribers.“Whichever field you work in, keep your intention clean. Allah will make you successful. But always remember to make things easier and better for others, even in small ways,” he said in a recent video.Taqi echoes the sentiment, urging creators to use their platforms for public good. “Content creators must remember the hundreds of thousands of people who watch their work, they should inspire, not distress,” he said.While challenges remain including the urgent need for a permanent dam to protect the village from floods, the efforts of Shiraz, Muskan and their family have drawn widespread praise across social media, with many calling them “a beacon of hope for the nation.”