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I Romila Hameed (Pakistan) a social activist, motivational speaker & writer, presently working with Empower Pakistan as Transcription Analyst and has also selected as a young Emerging Leader from Australia Award scholarship 2018 intake. I am a physically handicapped person exclusively working for the rights of PWD (Persons with Disabilities), especially for the woman with disabilities as Human Right Activist & Disability leader.

Though strong tremors of the earthquake of October 2005 lasted only a few seconds, it left a lasting impact on the lives of the affected. I personally experienced this tragedy first hand as my spinal cord snapped at T12, L1 Asia-A leaving me paraplegic and unless some miraculous scientific discovery enables me to stand on my feet I was diagnosed to be wheelchair bound for the rest of my life. My personal injury was not the only loss because I lost two of my sisters, one of them dying under the open sky, on my father’s lap, due to excessive bleeding and in torrential rain that followed the earthquake. I also lost a young sister-in-law in the tragedy.

As an arrangement between Government of Pakistan and the UAE, I was lucky to be included in the group which was selected for treatment in the UAE. I underwent successful spinal cord surgery at Al-Jazeera (now SKMC) hospital which enabled me to be able to sit, albeit, with assistance, on a bed or a wheelchair. It was a definite improvement from lying flat on one’s back but cheers lasted only a few days as the most testing days were awaiting me as I underwent rehabilitation process at the hospital under a very kind-hearted and a thorough Professional Dr. Garrison.

Dr. Garrison and his team of physiotherapists not only prepared us physically but also taught us to be strong both mentally and emotionally. Reflecting on my pre-earthquake life of living in a picturesque, albeit remote with primitive development, mountainous region of Kashmir I knew that the real challenges are lying ahead and this life in a gorgeous hospital of Abu Dhabi with the high wave of public sympathy was the only temporary respite. Determined to face challenges head-on I worked overtime on my physiotherapy sessions. My determination to challenge the next frontier soon caught the eye of our trainers as they elevated me to group leader status.

This sweet dream ended soon and as we boarded a military plane (C-130) my will to fight, challenges of life with the disability, soared and I became even more determined to succeed, not just as an individual, but attempt to be a beacon of light for others to follow in my footsteps. While my fellow patients were thinking about reuniting with their loved ones, I was reflecting over and building a blueprint of my life ahead and challenging myself to be like Ms. Hellen Keller. As I disembarked, while being happy to be with my family and friends, I had full realization that even going 50% of the distance traveled by the above named great personalities will be the real success and perhaps the only silver lining of my wheelchair-bound life.

Crumbling under the weight of challenges of a wheelchair-bound life many of my rehab mates soon started losing hope not just because of lack of health and rehab facilities but also due to our societal mindset which thought that nature had inflicted this tragedy on them due to the collective sins of the society. Immune from such thoughts as I was still living in my self-imaginary life I started peer counseling in the rehab center. I shared my knowledge, gained due to my association with Dr. Garrison, and started the arduous task of teaching them on self-management skills and motivating them towards a well-balanced and self-contended life on a wheelchair.

At times, I was amazed at the non-responsive attitude of many of them, especially females, and never understood as to why had they chosen to give up on life and were contended to be destined for a life of misery upon misery. Nature has its own way of testing humans as I soon got all the answers as I shifted back to my reconstructed parental home on a mountain, a gut-wrenching and at times virtually vertical climb from Bagh downtown. As males of the family left for their daily chores and two surviving sisters and nieces for their college and school I was left behind at home, at times alone, to look down on the Bagh valley, a passage which I travelled on a daily basis while going to school and here I was sitting in a wheelchair not able to even move around in a wheelchair due to the unfriendly landscape.

Like other developing countries if life in a wheelchair is difficult in even the most developed cities of Pakistan, it is a struggle, a struggle of massive proportions, with no room for complacency and weak nerves. While studying chapter on Hellen Keller I had often wondered as to the reason for its inclusion in our school curriculum. Knowing about her struggles made me determined to stand up and start my journey towards the achievement of my targets of the blueprint of life woven during the tinsel-life of Dr. Garrison inspired life and c-130 flight back home from Abu Dhabi.

The first task was to move down from the mountain to a city where I can pursue my education. Hence, I started demanding it, the prospect of which was initially dismissed by the family. Undeterred by the opposition, I kept demanding it and at times my family finally acceded and agreed to move to Rawalpindi, a city with relatively better educational facilities than my home hamlet or town. There too was refused admission in many colleges, not due to lack of grades or merit but, being handicapped or being in the wheelchair. I came back and cry incessantly but each drop of tear made me even more determined to keep trying as I was always confident that nature has not inflicted this injury on me without a purpose. Finally, a personal audience with the Principal of a private college got me admission and my hopes renewed.

By the grace of God, who gave me the strength to stand up to all challenges, I completed my six years of education with a Master’s degree in Accountancy with flying colors. With all my humility, I would say it is easier said than done. Imagine being in a college, for over 8 hours, with no facility what so ever for a wheel chaired student. No wheelchair friendly washrooms, toilets, ramps for movement. Even getting class schedules, which required constant movement from one floor to another, changed used to be an arduous task and did not come naturally to the concerned staff.

Studying late into the night shifting from chair to bed and bed to chair so as to avoid creating sore points was a struggle of epic proportion. Nevertheless, I did emerge successfully on the other side of it and as I look back I will remain eternally grateful to my family, Doctors especially Dr. Garrison, friends, teachers and everyone who were always there for me to make my effort a fruitful one. However, while others thought that my rehab process as over, for me it was just a first step towards my goal of being an inspiration for others.

The next step in my rehab process was to acquire economic rehabilitation. With Accountancy degree under my belt, I set out on a job hunt. Results were disheartening as either I did not get a response or if called, for an interview, I came back empty handed wondering is it gender bias or my physical handicap that is the cause of this rejection. Undeterred, I kept trying and after a brief stint as an internee in a multi-national company, I was offered, a dream come true, a 2-in-1 opportunity of working, as a paid employee.

Changing one’s own mindset is challenging, that of others is even more cumbersome. However, I have, over time, learned not to be deterred by hindrances hence have never restricted or stopped my efforts. The first phase of my struggle to emerge as a leader was not easy as it was a struggle on a day in day out basis, however, the silver lining was that it prepared me for the next phase of how to radiate my success onto others so as to inspire them to emulate me or to go test even those frontiers that I have not been able to explore.

Though I have never acted myopically or on the communal basis, I strongly believe that my efforts will amount to nothing if people with special needs hailing from my hometown were not to benefit from my experiences and evolving influence. As I moved through different towns I realized that, perhaps, I am the only one who not only completed her six years of education on wheelchair as a regular student, am economically emancipated and working to highlight the problems of people with special needs and also motivating special people to instill this belief in them that the journey of rehabilitation starts from within and not necessarily from an ideal environment.

During my visits to far-flung areas of Pakistan, I have to-date conducted many awareness-raising sessions about disabilities, how to cope with them, the conduct of communities and the rights of persons with special needs. To extend my reach I have also appeared in Radio and television programs to send the message across to the governments about basic health and educational needs of persons with special requirements and to families, communities, and public at large to cease being sympathetic and treat people with special needs humanly and on the equality of able-bodied persons. I also advocated strongly for the establishment of one Spinal injury unit and one special education center in my hometown.

I am often asked a question if I  have achieved my objectives. My response from day one has been that the “journey has just begun” and am as fresh and energetic as I have ever been in my life.