Resources or Determination ?
What we lack more, resources or determination ?
Scarcity, poverty, disability, accidents, all are parts of life for a fairly large section of the society, while most of the people afflicted by such conditions pass their life somehow. There are few who refuse to bow down and fight their way to hope and decent life through sheer determination.
Narrative of two individuals cited here serve as examples that scarcity of resources cannot become barrier in our way if we face the challenges with grit and determination. It is important to note that good education played important role in turning around their lives.
Roshan Jahan, the article is reproduced from http://www.ummid.com
Malegaon: Having lost both legs in a train accident, facing acute poverty, studying in a Urdu medium school and belonging to a conservative Muslim family. She would not have needed any other excuse if she had decided to resign. Yet, fighting all odds and overcoming physical and language barrier, she cracked the MBBS exams and is now preparing for post-graduate entrance.
The inspiring story of Roshan Jahan, the 23-year-old Muslim girl who hit the headlines after passing this year’s MBBS finals, was viral on all platforms – print and electronic media, internet and social networking sites, with each minute details, except for one thing that she also a golden voice.
Roshan Jahan was in Malegaon on Sunday when she left hundreds of students who had gathered at Zaini Basheer Hall mesmerized, and teary eyes, by singing in her golden voice a poem written and composed by her.
The poem is dedicated to her mother, who Roshan Jahan said, deserved, after Allah the Almighty, all credits for her extraordinary success.
“It is because of my mother, after Allah, the Almighty and the most Merciful, that I am standing here in front of you as a role model”, she said amid applause from hundreds of students.
She said after losing her both legs in the train accident, there were times, ample number of, when she had lost all hopes. But, it was her mother, she said, who enlightened hope every time she was in dismay.
“After I survived the train accident, my mother would say think over…. Think over why Allah, the Almighty, gifted you the ‘second life’. It must be for something really very big. She used to say finding me in despair”, she recalled.
Roshan Jahan’s legs had to be amputated after she fell off a local train in October 2008 while travelling from Andheri to Jogeshwari. She wore prosthesis since April 2009. She was returning home after writing her college exam papers at Anjuman-i-Islam Girl’s college, Bandra. When she neared the door at Andheri station, she could not control her balance and fell onto the tracks and her legs came under the moving train.
“I was in the first compartment when I fell off the train. I could see one of my legs completely damaged with the train running inches close to my body. I was screaming like anything. But no one pulled the chain to stop the running train”, she recalled.
Recounting her ordeal, she said, “Orthopedic surgeon Dr Sanjay Kantharia who operated on me helped me like I was his daughter. Even after the accident in 2008, I did not drop out and studied at home and appeared for exams.
“I cleared the state’s medical entrance exam, MHCET, and was later asked to go for a medical test for the handicapped at JJ Hospital. The doctors there said that as per the rules, only students who had between 40% to 70% disability could be given admission in the MBBS course. I was denied admission as I had 88% disability.”
She said Kantharia then suggested she move court.
“We met senior lawyer V P Patil, who took up my case for free. During the hearing I would go to the court with my relatives. Justice Shah, after hearing my petition and seeing me visiting the court, directed the college authorities to admit me,” Roshan said while sharing her story at a felicitation program jointly organized by Muslim Reservation Forum (MRF), Falah-e-Ummat Trust and Malegaon Jamiat-e-Ulema.
The students were hooked up to her speech, with frequent clapping and applause. They gave standing ovation after she finished off her one and half hour speech.
http://ummid.com/news/2016/April/03.04.2016/roshan-jahan-feleicitated-by-people-of-malegaon.html
Mohammed Yousuf
Mohammed Yousuf stopped walking at the age of about 2 years; the polio that attacked his body left most of it paralyzed but for his spirit. Even though he was too little to know about what is going on; the social norms, unfriendly society, lack of access to school and transportation, pretty much left him house bound, in isolation and segregated. He went to school for the first time at the age of 12 and since then he never looked back.
After completing the school, he tried to enroll in engineering college, he was denied admission because “he was not able to easily hold test tube”. He got admission in another college only on the condition that “family will bear the cost of any damage to the lab equipment”. He received his bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Osmania University, India in 1988.
Upon completing the education, he again faced challenges, this time getting a suitable job. Everyone felt that he will not be able to perform the tasks because of his disability. But this roadblock became blessings in disguise, unable to get a proper job in India; he started looking outside of India. With some help from social organizations he secured a place in USA for post-graduation studies.
He completed his masters in Computer Engineering from the Wayne State University, USA in 1992, CAPS certification from Housing University in 2006, Universal Design, Fair Housing & ADA/ABA Guidelines from Harvard University in 2007 and Assistive Technology Applications from California State University in 2008. He received a patent “7525931” in 2009 for his work on “wireless multiplex systems and methods for controlling devices in a vehicle”.
In 2001, he started Equally Able Foundation (formerly HelpHandicap) with few other friends. Ten years later, the foundation has done some remarkable work to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities, not only in India where he was born, but across the United States and other countries. Amazing stories of how his foundation is transforming the lives of disabled people can be found on their website.
May Allah (SWT) remove our weaknesses and give us strong determination.
For further reading pl. visit,
http://equallyable.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/acknowledingallahsgrace.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utt4-EK06j4&feature=youtu.be
