Some brave souls are indeed so courageous that they never lose hope and never give up, however challenging and cruel life may seem to be. Their unwavering spirit then develops into real, dedicated motivation for millions of others — just as it happened with this beautiful young girl!
Seventeen-year-old Pakistani girl, Insha Afsar, lost her leg in a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, that hit the northern part of the country, killing around 80,000 people, and displacing millions, and which also destroyed her school that collapsed in the disaster.
The amazing teen did not let her unfortunate disability overpower her. Now she is determined to realize her dream of performing champion ski-movements in the upcoming 2018 Winter Paralympics, to be held in South Korea.
Afsar is going to be the proud first ever ski-racer from Pakistan to compete in the prestigious games.
“I’m a person that likes going fast, doing everything fast. I just like speed,” Afsar said, according to ABC news report.
“It’s not common for women to be athletes [in Pakistan]. Now I’m doing a sport that I love. That might inspire people despite everything that’s holding them back.”
“For my family it’s kind of shocking because they don’t understand what [skiing] is in a way,” said Afsar. “We don’t have skiing in Pakistan so it’s hard for them to process the idea.”
After the tragic earthquake, one of the TIME magazine’s reporters photographed her, and then a kind-hearted editor offered to help her visit the U.S., where she underwent a prosthetic leg surgery at Shriners Hospital in Springfield, Massachussetts.
She is able to pursue her adventurous dreams with the unconditional support of her parents in Pakistan and her host parents, Ted and Rebecca Bent, from Washington.
According to ABC News, she is currently on a student visa that extends through to the end of high school.
This amazing soul now studies at Berkshire Academy in Massachusetts and is a proud athlete sponsored by the New England Disabled Sports.
She said that the highlight of her life was “being given this chance to come to the U.S.”
