Sunday, 21 September 2014
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Hi everyone!
Welcome to my blog! This is my very first attempt of designing a blog and for that I'll give myself a pat on my back. Hope you like it.
Here's my introdution for all of you out there. This is Azima Zaidi from Islamabad, Pakistan. I'm a 21 year old girl with a physical disability who makes use of prosthetic limbs. Besides my disability I've taken life not as a challenge but a blessing from God. True, life can be very tough sometimes but when we start being thankful for all we possess, our sorrows lightens a bit.
This is what I do. I observe other people who're living in more harsh and unprivileged conditions than I do, and that actually makes me feel a whole lot better. To me my family, friends and all those who've helped me in some way are closest to my heart. I am and will always be appreciative towards them!
Moving on towards a more serious and notable topic 'education' I've recently given my O'level finals as a private candidate. My past academic record have always been great, if you ask my parents and I hope it stays the same way throughout. As for the future, my foremost dream is to graduate from U.S high school, return to my country Pakistan and bring back the good that I've learnt. Occupation wise, I want to be a journalist. The inspiration comes from a talented Pakistani journalist 'Miss Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy' who is the first Pakistani nominated for an Oscar so far. Besides that I am interested in arts. I've always included variety in my art work and by the passage of time I'm improving it. I use several mediums like crayons, markers, pencils, pastels etc.
The biggest achievement that I consider for myself is that I was selected as a YES (Youth Exchange and Study) exchange student along with my frriends and got a lifetime opportunity to travel to U.S and exchange my culture like an active Pakistani ambassador. What a year it was! An experience that cannot be described in words. I was placed in Eugene, OR with a host family so caring, helpful and adventurous. Throughout the year I did a lot of traveling, exploring new venues, people, cultures etc. It was like living in a fantasy world. And how can I forget my trip to Disney Land and Sandiego zoo. Two of my most favorite places. Although it was chilly out in Disney Land, we stayed there for nearly fourteen hours enjoying every ride we posibly could. That one week visit to California for Christmas was splendid! And ofcourse there were many adventures awaiting. My selection for CEW (Civic Education Workshop) was another highlighting achievement. A full week visit to Washington, DC attending seminars, meetings and getting to learn how American government worked. How exciting! Also, the presentations we had to give to our host communities about our respective countries was itself a joy. I personally enjoyed presenting Pakistan to a wider audience and was happy to see how eager they were to learn more.
Now that I'm back from U.S, things and most importantly I have changed. In a good way. I have become more aware of the possibilities and more independent. Special thanks to both my parents in Pakistan and U.S :) Sadly the privileges/facilities I enjoyed in U.S as being a person with disability are not avaiable to me here. Not only to me, to all the disabled persons I've met so far they all feel the same way. The most elite schools in Islamabad are not accessible. Hard to believe, but true. That's the major reason why I had to complete my last year of O'levels privately because I couldn't get an admission due to accessibility issues. My question is why don't we take a stand? Our Pakistani youth is full of energy and passion but there's no one to help, not even encourage. My future goal is to work for inclusive education. Work for the interest of people with special needs, provide them with the facilities which would help them make their lives easier and productive. Let's spread the light to do something good for humanity. It's time for all of us to stand out, speak up for our rights and show the world our strength. I need philanthropists, NGO's, international organizations, embassies to help me out, This is the forum, share with me your stories. Maybe somehow we could get connected and meet our aims. Let us all work for change, a change for good!
Help me make this a success!
Thanks,
Azima Zaidi
YES-9 Alumnus
E-mail: azima.zaidi@gmail.com
Contact # 0314-5560533
Saturday, 25 January 2014
Miracles do happen!
"Believe that you have it, and you'll have it." True! It's all about believing in yourself and understanding your capabilities. Never set goals too high, start from low. Search for opportunities, as they're not served to you in a plate and once you have the right choice in mind, strive to acheive it. And believe me miracles do happen!
I, Azima Zaidi, was an ordinary high school student from Pakistan. I had everything that an ordinary kid of my age would have but there was a feeling inside of me: the feeling to do something in life so later on people could look up to me for my achievements. I decided to challenge myself and do something unusual. The definition of challenge is same worldwide, but it's intensity varies depending on the person. For me studying abroad was my biggest dream and to make it happen all I had to do was some research and consult a couple of people. One of our family friends told me about the K-L YES (Kennedy Lugar Youth exchange and study) program that helped me fulfill my dream about studying in U.S for one year. The process was long, it took a lot of effort and hard work of many people but it was the determination that kept me going! I was selected amongst 107 talented kids from Pakistan. It appeared all like a dream to me, a dream I have been waiting for. I along with my group left for U.S on 11th September, 2011 cheering out loud, ready for a lifetime journey! Before our arrival to host families, we had a one week orientation in Washington D.C so it was not until 15th September 2011 that I landed at Eugene airport, my eyes curiously searching for my host family. There they were: my host mom, my liaison and two of my most favorite people of all; my headmaster Bob and Buck. From that day onwards things took a smooth turn. It seemed everything happened for good.
I can't express the joy I felt after meeting my pet dogs and cats. Yes, my host family had two dogs and two cats. In my host family I had a host mom Harriet, dad John, sister Ellen and brother Jeff. Moving on, there were many things that had to be organized. The basic neccessities: school items, winter clothes, a rain coat etc. Next in list was a visit to my american high school " Oak Hill", a small, private school in Eugene. It turned out pretty well. Everyday was a busy day in my host family. It was not until my school started that my routine got settled, other wise my host family was always ready to take me out for an adventure, which I loved! On my first day of school, I was successful in making a bunch of new friends and was selected as the head of the student representative council for foreign students. I know, can't believe it myself. For fun I took drama class, art and joined year book club. This proved to be a great way of increasing my social circle. I couldn't have ended up in a better place than Eugene. Yes it was a perfect place for me as it was environment friendly and as being an adult with disability I got to try out new sports that I had never imagined before. for instance, my host mom bought me a bike. My very own bike that I rode every morning. Not just that, I also applied for skiing classes, went swimming with my host mom, went camping and let's not forget the activities I did with MIUSA (Mobility International U.S.A). With MIUSA, we did all kind of fun and challenging activities which required us to 'figure things out'. There were all sorts of kids with disablility: blind, deaf and physically challenged. No matter how different we all were, there was one thing in common: 'enthusiasm'. We all went bowling, swimming, experienced challenge course, visited other high schools in the district which provide facilities for disabled students(that unfortunately we dont have in our country). Working in garden to grow food for needy people, bike riding etc. My room mate was blind and I got to learn so much from her. I guess that's the best part about this exchange program; learning from others. After MIUSA week was over, I had to go for the Sky Camp ( Orientation for all AFS kids from Eugene and nearby areas) for the whole weekend. My host sister accompanied me since she was volunteering there. That too helped me get connected with people from several cultural backgrounds and gave me an opportunity to share mine.
I can't express the joy I felt after meeting my pet dogs and cats. Yes, my host family had two dogs and two cats. In my host family I had a host mom Harriet, dad John, sister Ellen and brother Jeff. Moving on, there were many things that had to be organized. The basic neccessities: school items, winter clothes, a rain coat etc. Next in list was a visit to my american high school " Oak Hill", a small, private school in Eugene. It turned out pretty well. Everyday was a busy day in my host family. It was not until my school started that my routine got settled, other wise my host family was always ready to take me out for an adventure, which I loved! On my first day of school, I was successful in making a bunch of new friends and was selected as the head of the student representative council for foreign students. I know, can't believe it myself. For fun I took drama class, art and joined year book club. This proved to be a great way of increasing my social circle. I couldn't have ended up in a better place than Eugene. Yes it was a perfect place for me as it was environment friendly and as being an adult with disability I got to try out new sports that I had never imagined before. for instance, my host mom bought me a bike. My very own bike that I rode every morning. Not just that, I also applied for skiing classes, went swimming with my host mom, went camping and let's not forget the activities I did with MIUSA (Mobility International U.S.A). With MIUSA, we did all kind of fun and challenging activities which required us to 'figure things out'. There were all sorts of kids with disablility: blind, deaf and physically challenged. No matter how different we all were, there was one thing in common: 'enthusiasm'. We all went bowling, swimming, experienced challenge course, visited other high schools in the district which provide facilities for disabled students(that unfortunately we dont have in our country). Working in garden to grow food for needy people, bike riding etc. My room mate was blind and I got to learn so much from her. I guess that's the best part about this exchange program; learning from others. After MIUSA week was over, I had to go for the Sky Camp ( Orientation for all AFS kids from Eugene and nearby areas) for the whole weekend. My host sister accompanied me since she was volunteering there. That too helped me get connected with people from several cultural backgrounds and gave me an opportunity to share mine.
Time goes hastily in Oregon. Trust me. Everyone felt that way, so I thought to make the best out of my exchange year. My week ends were always engaged, either in school events or with host family. Luckily you get to learn and celebrate American festivities like Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving. As Halloween approached, I started wandering around to find my costume. With my host sister's help I managed to find one. I was a peacock fairy! Americans love celebrating Halloween, I can say by the way they get so involved. Their costumes, parties, dances and songs are amazing. It wasn't long until December arrived. We made a plan to spend Christmas in Sandiego at my host uncle's house. We went on a train, and what a magnificent view it was. Although it was a one week tour, we tasted flavors of every activity possible. A day before Christmas, we all went to Disney Land and stayed there for fourteen hours. Literally! Next day we visited Sandiego zoo. One of the best zoos I've visited so far. Although it was cold, I had a great time. There were other places too to visit: museums, parks, restaurants, and going for Christmas tree shopping. Just two days before we arrived back to Eugene, we had to go visit my host sister in Portland for New Year. Yaee! I was happy to welcome the coming year with open arms and what joyed me more was the arrival of my birthday. How exciting! As my host mom was originally from Tennessee, she loved and was an expert at making southern desserts. So she made me strawberry, heart shaped cake for my Valentine's birthday. It was delicious and fancy looking! We invited over some family friends to enjoy cake and ice cream together. The best thing I liked about my year was the way I waited for things to happen. Everyday I had things planned. For that my host mom gave me a calendar and asked me to write all the appointments down just to be on track. It actually worked. Throughout the year I had events planned. Occasionally an AFS volunteer would take several kids on a road trip to different venues in Oregon so we could learn about Native American culture. Our last trip was to "Indian Reservation" where we stayed at a hotel for a night, it was beautiful. On some weekends when my host parents had time off from their busy schedule, they would take me out to watch stage performances, concerts, saturday market, movie theatres, sports etc. My good luck followed me all the way through. Miss Katherine from U.S Department of State came to Eugene to attend MIUSA's meeting. Before she left we invited her over for dinner at our house. Our first meeting proved quite fruitful as she was impressed to see my year proceeding so successfully. She even decided to write a short article on me regarding the activities that I've done all year long and paste it on the website.I even showed her my art work. She loved it! I got a chance to meet wonderful people where ever I went. People who cared.
Life was moving on perfectly. So perfect I would have forzen the time if I had to. Why perfect? Because I was living my dream and that my success was following my footsteps. My selection in the CEW (Civic education workshop) along with other YES students was not less of an accomplishment. It was no doubt a wonderful opportunity to visit several important monuments in Washington D.C and learn about the government system in U.S. It was a memorable experience. I had the time of my life! Getting in was hard as we had to write an essay and with that fill out several forms, what not but I'm glad it's all done. It was for a week, so after I came back I was busy getting all my school work done. Same week we had 'Equinox Festival' in which international univeristy kids came to our school and gave presentations about their respective countries. I was eager to learn from them so I asked plenty of questions. The days went on until our school's trip arrived to Ashland,OR. Ashland is best known for its plays and that's exactly why we went there. We saw two Shakespeare's plays and came back the next day.
The last two days of school that week, we had a competition in which we had to select a product and advertise it through a 2min commercial, designing a poster ad and giving a presentation infront of the judges. Luckily my team won and so we were awarded! I miss those days. In order to celebrate, my host family took me out to see Roller Derby. It's quite a physical sport and looks painful but it was fun to watch. I was the guest of honor and also got signed autographs from the team members. They announced my name infront of everyone which made my cheeks blush a bit, but it was worth it. By the time we came out it was dark. What a fine way to end the day!
The last two days of school that week, we had a competition in which we had to select a product and advertise it through a 2min commercial, designing a poster ad and giving a presentation infront of the judges. Luckily my team won and so we were awarded! I miss those days. In order to celebrate, my host family took me out to see Roller Derby. It's quite a physical sport and looks painful but it was fun to watch. I was the guest of honor and also got signed autographs from the team members. They announced my name infront of everyone which made my cheeks blush a bit, but it was worth it. By the time we came out it was dark. What a fine way to end the day!
Days were moving on and time to return back home was getting nearer. It's not only me, others felt it too. I was anxious to see my family after so long, but leaving everyone back was gloomy. Two weeks before we all had to leave to for D.C I got back from Houston, TX. I was there to get my new prosthetic hands and legs. My trip was short, and believe me leaving Eugene's weather behind was very tough. It was a fun experience though. I received beautiful hands and tall legs. It feels good! It was in a matter of weeks that I had to give my finals, say goodbyes to everyone and finish my packing. That's the hard part. Packing seems to take forever and deciding what to pack is even worse. My host mom was gone for some days for her work, so my host sister came to visit me. It was father's day so Ellen and I went for father's day shopping. I bought him chocolates while she decided to give him a card. We three celebrated the special day with ice cream on a bright, sunny day. She left after a day and I carried on with the packing. Then comes the part to say goodbyes. I dont like that word. When it's obvious that it's time to say good bye, time flies faster than it should. I prepared myself to bid farewell to my host parents, host community, my friends, my school, my neighbors and all those who helped me make my year memorable .
My flight was early in the morning. My host mom took so many pictures of me at the airport and came all the way to the aircraft to hug me goodbye. I tried 'really' hard not to cry and the best way I could do that is not to look directly into my mom's eyes. I thanked them for all their help and there I was, flying back to D.C for our last orientation. Meeting some of my Pakistani friends at the airport made me feel better, after all we all were going through the same scenerio. Orientation in D.C was fun. We met some of our alumni, which was great. Some kids were anxiously waiting to see their families. I was too. Finally after three days of work, we all were set free to go back to Pakistan. I was so glad to see my country, my homeland! We all were successfully back on the 25th June 2012, not as YES participants but as YES alumni. I am so proud of my country and its youth. This life changing experience wouldn't have been possible without the help and support of many people, especially Mam Farah Kamal and Sir Irfan. We'll serve our country as active participants of the YES alumni network!
My flight was early in the morning. My host mom took so many pictures of me at the airport and came all the way to the aircraft to hug me goodbye. I tried 'really' hard not to cry and the best way I could do that is not to look directly into my mom's eyes. I thanked them for all their help and there I was, flying back to D.C for our last orientation. Meeting some of my Pakistani friends at the airport made me feel better, after all we all were going through the same scenerio. Orientation in D.C was fun. We met some of our alumni, which was great. Some kids were anxiously waiting to see their families. I was too. Finally after three days of work, we all were set free to go back to Pakistan. I was so glad to see my country, my homeland! We all were successfully back on the 25th June 2012, not as YES participants but as YES alumni. I am so proud of my country and its youth. This life changing experience wouldn't have been possible without the help and support of many people, especially Mam Farah Kamal and Sir Irfan. We'll serve our country as active participants of the YES alumni network!
Success Story!
“Learn from yesterday, live for tomorrow” is key to a successful life. I learn every day from people around me and get inspiration to move on. I, Azima Zaidi was born in 1993 with a physical disability. My hands below wrist and legs above knee are absent. This disability has fortunately never created any barriers along my way.
Despite my disability I've enjoyed every moment of my life. For me it has been as unpredictable as a mystery box. In today’s competitive world I learnt to survive, and the best way to do that as my parents say is through education! Especially for people with disabilities education is food for life. “Educate yourself to such an extent that people have no choice but to follow your footsteps” said my dad. If today I’m educated, confident and independent, it’s all because of my parents. Perhaps the best first step my parents took for my grooming was to put me in a normal children’s school. This experience made me realize that we all may be different physically but from the inside we’re the same. I was modifying into a unique person, in search of my shining future.
The journey is proceeding, meeting success on its way and hopefully there’ll be more. That moment is still vivid in my mind when my mom received a letter from the founder of a prestigious organization ‘The House of Charity’ in hope of taking me to Houston, TX for my free prosthetic treatment. That was the first roller coaster spin of my life! Traveling to U.S without my family for four months was worth returning tall and happy. “The world looks so beautiful from up here” I said on receiving my first prosthetics. I discovered new culture, diverse people, my capabilities and how to be flexible towards changes. After the first trip, my visits to Houston increased. There I designed template for UNICEF calendar in 2003 followed by my interview on ‘abc’ news channel. I indulged myself in community service projects, assisted ‘House of Charity’ in welfare work and for a while studied in U.S middle and high school. I also sold a couple of my art masterpieces, which taught me communication skills.
The desire to work for people with special needs rose in my mind after my YES (Youth Exchange and Study) program (2011-2012) experience. I, along with 107 kids, was chosen from almost thousand kids from all over Pakistan to travel to U.S on an exchange year for one year. We lived there with an American host family, attended an American high school and captured all opportunities to best represent our Pakistani culture. I was living my dream! One of the highlighting accomplishments was that I was selected as a CEW (Civil Education Workshop) participant In USA and travelled to Washington DC for various seminars. There I was interviewed by ‘Voice of America’ to share my U.S experience and encourage other disabled students to apply for such exchange programs. I expanded my social circle by making numerous foreign friends as it taught me a lot about their customs. My host school named ‘Oak Hill’ in Eugene, OR supported me throughout and I got a chance to blend myself in by participating in various extracurricular activities. I was given privileges like power wheelchair for school, a wheelchair ramp and stair chair at home, laptop for school work, a personal bicycle and much more.
Not to forget my MIUSA (Mobility International, USA) experience. The activities I performed were the ones I never thought I could do. Like challenge course, skiing, swimming, riding bicycle, bowling and visit to accessible schools. That indeed was a cherry on top. They made me believe in myself. I knew nothing was impossible. Now that I’m back I have great goals for future. My dream is to start an organization which would work for the welfare of people with special needs. My main focus would be on the education sector, providing ease and facilities for disabled students: personal laptops, fully accessible schools, power wheelchair etc. As education is a basic human right, it should be provided to everyone on equal basis. With all these goals in mind, I’ve managed to complete my last year of O’levels from Beaconhouse school and ASAS academy, Islamabad. Now my foremost dream is to graduate from American high school, work on health, education, development and introduce facilities for disabled people. All I need is a forum! I cannot live in U.S forever but I surely can convey the positive ideas which I got from there to my people here. That’s the least I can do. I believe everyone on earth is living for a reason, so by that logic I too have a task to perform. Our optimistic thought towards our disability can break various barriers and open all minds towards change, a change for good.
Despite my disability I've enjoyed every moment of my life. For me it has been as unpredictable as a mystery box. In today’s competitive world I learnt to survive, and the best way to do that as my parents say is through education! Especially for people with disabilities education is food for life. “Educate yourself to such an extent that people have no choice but to follow your footsteps” said my dad. If today I’m educated, confident and independent, it’s all because of my parents. Perhaps the best first step my parents took for my grooming was to put me in a normal children’s school. This experience made me realize that we all may be different physically but from the inside we’re the same. I was modifying into a unique person, in search of my shining future.
The journey is proceeding, meeting success on its way and hopefully there’ll be more. That moment is still vivid in my mind when my mom received a letter from the founder of a prestigious organization ‘The House of Charity’ in hope of taking me to Houston, TX for my free prosthetic treatment. That was the first roller coaster spin of my life! Traveling to U.S without my family for four months was worth returning tall and happy. “The world looks so beautiful from up here” I said on receiving my first prosthetics. I discovered new culture, diverse people, my capabilities and how to be flexible towards changes. After the first trip, my visits to Houston increased. There I designed template for UNICEF calendar in 2003 followed by my interview on ‘abc’ news channel. I indulged myself in community service projects, assisted ‘House of Charity’ in welfare work and for a while studied in U.S middle and high school. I also sold a couple of my art masterpieces, which taught me communication skills.
The desire to work for people with special needs rose in my mind after my YES (Youth Exchange and Study) program (2011-2012) experience. I, along with 107 kids, was chosen from almost thousand kids from all over Pakistan to travel to U.S on an exchange year for one year. We lived there with an American host family, attended an American high school and captured all opportunities to best represent our Pakistani culture. I was living my dream! One of the highlighting accomplishments was that I was selected as a CEW (Civil Education Workshop) participant In USA and travelled to Washington DC for various seminars. There I was interviewed by ‘Voice of America’ to share my U.S experience and encourage other disabled students to apply for such exchange programs. I expanded my social circle by making numerous foreign friends as it taught me a lot about their customs. My host school named ‘Oak Hill’ in Eugene, OR supported me throughout and I got a chance to blend myself in by participating in various extracurricular activities. I was given privileges like power wheelchair for school, a wheelchair ramp and stair chair at home, laptop for school work, a personal bicycle and much more.
Not to forget my MIUSA (Mobility International, USA) experience. The activities I performed were the ones I never thought I could do. Like challenge course, skiing, swimming, riding bicycle, bowling and visit to accessible schools. That indeed was a cherry on top. They made me believe in myself. I knew nothing was impossible. Now that I’m back I have great goals for future. My dream is to start an organization which would work for the welfare of people with special needs. My main focus would be on the education sector, providing ease and facilities for disabled students: personal laptops, fully accessible schools, power wheelchair etc. As education is a basic human right, it should be provided to everyone on equal basis. With all these goals in mind, I’ve managed to complete my last year of O’levels from Beaconhouse school and ASAS academy, Islamabad. Now my foremost dream is to graduate from American high school, work on health, education, development and introduce facilities for disabled people. All I need is a forum! I cannot live in U.S forever but I surely can convey the positive ideas which I got from there to my people here. That’s the least I can do. I believe everyone on earth is living for a reason, so by that logic I too have a task to perform. Our optimistic thought towards our disability can break various barriers and open all minds towards change, a change for good.
In the end I would like to thank a number of people for believing in me and steering me to the path of success. My parents, siblings, friends, relatives and Hashmat Mummy I express my deep gratitude for all your love and support! I love you all :)
Community Services!
Giving back to our community is the best we can do. It's very well said, "We can never get a re-creation of community and heal our society without giving our citizens a sense of belonging."
If we start thinking this way, this world would be a better place to live. Switching our mind towards the well being of society is the first step towards development. Many countries indulge themselves in community service projects and it's time we do too. Start from small and eventually it would lead to big.
Let me share with you all some of my community service experiences:
This is me cutting tomatoes as part of my community service. My friends and I were given several tasks which summed up to providing food for people in Lane County- Eugene, OR. Later on I also worked at their garden digging out vegetables and collecting them in a basket. Everyone else helped with preparing a wonderful meal which we had together.
I volunteered along with my host parents at a 'Mushroom Festival' in Eugene, OR where we had our separate stall. My job was to fold t.shirts and arrange all items in a neat manner. I got to learn communication skills by observing how a shopkeeper and customer dealt with one another. After my work was done, my host parents took me to see other stalls and the mushroom display.
I along with my friends in Islamabad, Pakistan conducted a community service where we visited elderly people at 'old home.' It's purpose was to spend some quality time with these senior citizens who have been living in this old home due to several personal reasons. I had a great time having friendly conversations with them because there was so much to learn. Later on we all had a nice meal and distributed them their gifts that we bought through fundraising.
This is a recent community service project my friends and I conducted at PIMS hospital- Islamabad, Pakistan during the holy month of Ramadan. We managed to collect funds way above our imagination which was our first success! With those funds we bought Savor (rice) packets along with juice packs. These items were distributed at different wards in the hospital after which we had 'iftar' (breaking of fast at sunset) together outside at the cafeteria. It was a wonderful feeling by the end of the day!
Tours!
My very first visit to Houston, TX United States.
At the age of seven, I walked in my new prosthetic limbs and that meant the world to me. Who knew my life would completely change.
Special thanks to Mrs. Hashmat Effendi and all her supporters who've helped make this a reality.
A latest picture of mine with my doctor, Erin.
It was taken during my recent trip to Houston, TX in 2012.
My first trip to Thailand with family. Loved the place, its food and people. Every moment I spent was memorable and unique in its own way.
This was my trip to Iran with my family. Other than the fact that Iran is visited for its magnificent tourist attractions like 'Azadi Tower' and 'Golestan Palace', it also holds great importance religiously as ' Imam Reza and Shah Abdol Azim's shrine is present there. That's why you would see thousands of Muslims there fulfilling their religious obligations. My family and I too visited Iran for pilgrimage. It was an experience that can never be forgotten. Got to see and learn so much from the people there.
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