On 2nd February 1995, a girl was born in Faisalabad, Pakistan with many dreams. She had dreamed of the future of technology in Pakistan. She wanted to promote the latest technology and developments in IT sector of Pakistan. Arfa had a desire of a school in every village and town of Pakistan to educate the kids very long before Malala Yousafzai.
The fulfillment of her dream initiated, when she got her first computer at the age of six, she displayed a huge interest and got full command on using Windows and its application software in two years. Later on, her rapid accomplishments, her father took her to a nearby computer institute named APTECH, where she ran on, very much faster pace and gave the” Microsoft Certified Application Developer” in four months. The proud moment for Pakistan was when; she achieved the title of “The World’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional since 2004-2006,” and praised as the brightest child of Pakistan and the pride of the state as well. Microsoft also held an additional exam to fit her programming abilities and she spent that too. At that juncture, she invited by Bill Gates the Chairman of Microsoft to visit Microsoft Headquarters. Arfa visited the Microsoft headquarters with her father Lieutenant Colonel (R) Amjad Karim Randhawa, got a chance to meet people working in Microsoft.
Several awards in Pakistan rewarded Arfa Karim as well, after returning to Pakistan like, Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology by the government of Pakistan, Pride of Performance an award from the President of Pakistan of which she was the youngest recipient ever. Her career has started, Microsoft invited her for keynote session in a THE-Ed Developers conference held in Barcelona, and she was the only Pakistani in the conference among 5000 developers from all over the globe. Arfa also represented Pakistan in various forums like IT-Professional in Dubai in which she got many awards and medals. She was made a brand ambassador for Pakistan Telecommunication company’s 3G wireless Broadband service “EVO.”
Her Father said that she displayed signs of an extraordinary memory from a very youthful age. She was a very ingenious child and penned many poems. Here, I would like to mention from one of her aspirations.
Like a bird in the sky
Flying freely and so high
Like a fish in the water
And the king’s beautiful daughter
Like a tiny little mouse
Eating cheese around the house
Like a bear in the mountain
And the water in the fountain
Like a lion in the jungle
Roaring loudly with hunger
Like a monkey in the zoo
All the time copying you
Arfa Karim – an inspiration for every Pakistani
From her, the most inspiring aspect that I got from her is that she was proud of her achievements and, for instance, she set her email signature “Youngest MCP in the World.”
The brightest star of Pakistan started to lose its shine from December 22, 2011. Arfa had a cardiac arrest after an epileptic seizure, doctors said that she had suffered brain damage that had left her in the coma, and shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (Lahore). Nevertheless, she showed some sign of improvement but the next day on 14 January 2012, she passed away. However, the owner of Microsoft Mr Bill Gates organised the U.S.A best doctors’ panel that was continuing contact with the assisting doctors of Arfa Karim. Bill Gates endured all her medical expenses.
Every IT Professional of Pakistan, every student practicing programming language and user searching the website of Microsoft, Every student making progress in a specific field will always remember Arfa Karim.
You are our pride Arfa, An honor for Pakistan we will not forget you…
The world will never forget you.
Rest in Peace!
