We have seen that people with disabilities have been able to overcome obstacles and achieve international recognition in life. The one name that comes to my mind is Stephen Hawking the famous British professor of mathematics having recently retired from that post in 2009. He was paralyzed from head to toe and could only move his middle finger. The rest is history as we saw what he achieved. For those people who don’t know of Haw king’s...
Lance Armstrong was at the peak of his career in early 1996. At that time, he had just won the World Cycling Championships and became the first cyclist to clock the widest winning margin in the U.S. National Road Race Championship’s history. Besides that, he had just signed a 2 year contract to ride with a famous French racing team for $2.5 million. But his dream of riding for the French crashed on October 2, 1996 when he was diagnosed with advanced...
Imran Khan was my first role model in life. Ever since sports became a part of my life, sportsmen have really inspired me in life through their performance and presence. Imran is one such name who had such an amazing personality which made him head and shoulders above the rest. When Imran used to play cricket and then went on to become the captain of the Pakistan cricket team I used to follow cricket like crazy, particularly Imran’s performance. I...
Roger Federer is Asad’s greatest role model without a shadow of doubt. He is the greatest tennis player to have played the game of tennis. The qualities which make Federer Asad Rafi’s greatest role model are: 1. Watching him in action motivates him to do greater things in life. 2. His ability to come back from impossible situations and win is phenomenal. 3. It is his never say die attitude which makes him no.1 in Asad’s book. 4....
Challenges play the role of Vitamins in Life
So, face every challenge with courage because they make our personalityAsad Rafi has been suffering from Friedrich’s Ataxia since the age of 17. He was transferred into a wheelchair at the age of 20 when he found walking extremely difficult. He graduated from Karachi Grammar School and hence could not pursue with his higher studies due to Friedrich’s Ataxia. He has been in a wheelchair for over 20 years now.
He joined IBM after doing his A-levels and worked for them for 15 years. After IBM he worked in his father’s company SI3 and was the head of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) there. He is also associated with working for NGOs including NOWP which is working for the betterment of disabled people all over Pakistan.
Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Asad is a very determined person and always hada positive attitude in life. He has been a motivational speaker for the past 5 years. He has successfully motivated students in various schools like Karachi Grammar School, Beacon House School, Aitchison College etc. He has also spoken at universities like CBM and IBA. He has also gone to Lahore and given talks at LUMS and Kinnaird College. He has also spoken at seminars, workshops and corporate offices like Unilever, Faysal Bank and GlaxoSmithKline and Dawood Group.
His talks are aimed at raising awareness about Friedrich’s Ataxia and to change the mindsets of people about making Pakistan a more wheel chair friendly place. The feedback he has been getting has been very encouraging. Independent Living, Positive Attitude, Over coming obstacles in Life, Pursuit of Happiness, It is not what happens to you it is what you do about it and Disability is not an Inability and Motivation are among his topics. Asad gets his motivation and inspiration from his role models namely Roger Federer, Stephen Hawking, W. Mitchell and Lance Armstrong.
Asad has been giving talks at Mr. Ramiz Allahwala’s workshops and has also received training from Mr. Allahwalla regarding his talks. He has also been a keen writer and has contributed many articles in magazines abroad and at home. His articles have also been published in the newsletter for ataxia “Generations”. He also writes on his blog regularly www.asadrafi.com.
Asad has also come on various TV channels for interviews including DAWN, Aaj, Business Plus, Samaa TV, CNBC and Hum TV recently. Some of his interviews and motivational talks can also be seen on Youtube. He is also a member of the Toastmasters Club which improves your public speaking and communication skills. The Toastmasters has been greatly instrumental in improving his talks and given him more confidence. He has received a few awards for being the best speaker. He has also attended theToastmaster’s meeting in London.
Asad has been a sports loving person from a very young age. I guess his interest in sports came from his grandfather, his father and his uncle who all loved sports. His favorite sport is tennis and his no.1 role model is Roger Federer from the tennis world. Despite being in a wheelchair it has not stopped him from his first love swimming. He swims regularly and feels very satisfied when he sees non disabled people unable to swim and he sees himself swimming despite being in a wheelchair.
Recently he has also started work on a new project making schools wheelchair friendly along with the help of Family Educational Services Foundation. Asad is also in the process of writing a book which will be like his autobiography based on his experiences in life. His new website is under construction these days.
Asad Rafi has been suffering from Friedrich’s Ataxia since the age of 17. He was transferred into a wheelchair at the age of 20 when he found walking extremely difficult. He graduated from Karachi Grammar School and hence could not pursue with his higher studies due to Friedrich’s Ataxia. He has been in a wheelchair for over 20 years now.
He joined IBM after doing his A-levels and worked for them for 15 years. After IBM he worked in his father’s company SI3 and was the head of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) there. He is also associated with working for NGOs including NOWP which is working for the betterment of disabled people all over Pakistan.
Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Asad is a very determined person and always hada positive attitude in life. He has been a motivational speaker for the past 5 years. He has successfully motivated students in various schools like Karachi Grammar School, Beacon House School, Aitchison College etc. He has also spoken at universities like CBM and IBA. He has also gone to Lahore and given talks at LUMS and Kinnaird College. He has also spoken at seminars, workshops and corporate offices like Unilever, Faysal Bank and GlaxoSmithKline and Dawood Group.
His talks are aimed at raising awareness about Friedrich’s Ataxia and to change the mindsets of people about making Pakistan a more wheel chair friendly place. The feedback he has been getting has been very encouraging. Independent Living, Positive Attitude, Over coming obstacles in Life, Pursuit of Happiness, It is not what happens to you it is what you do about it and Disability is not an Inability and Motivation are among his topics. Asad gets his motivation and inspiration from his role models namely Roger Federer, Stephen Hawking, W. Mitchell and Lance Armstrong.
Asad has been giving talks at Mr. Ramiz Allahwala’s workshops and has also received training from Mr. Allahwalla regarding his talks. He has also been a keen writer and has contributed many articles in magazines abroad and at home. His articles have also been published in the newsletter for ataxia “Generations”. He also writes on his blog regularly www.asadrafi.com.
Asad has also come on various TV channels for interviews including DAWN, Aaj, Business Plus, Samaa TV, CNBC and Hum TV recently. Some of his interviews and motivational talks can also be seen on Youtube. He is also a member of the Toastmasters Club which improves your public speaking and communication skills. The Toastmasters has been greatly instrumental in improving his talks and given him more confidence. He has received a few awards for being the best speaker. He has also attended theToastmaster’s meeting in London.
Asad has been a sports loving person from a very young age. I guess his interest in sports came from his grandfather, his father and his uncle who all loved sports. His favorite sport is tennis and his no.1 role model is Roger Federer from the tennis world. Despite being in a wheelchair it has not stopped him from his first love swimming. He swims regularly and feels very satisfied when he sees non disabled people unable to swim and he sees himself swimming despite being in a wheelchair.
Recently he has also started work on a new project making schools wheelchair friendly along with the help of Family Educational Services Foundation. Asad is also in the process of writing a book which will be like his autobiography based on his experiences in life. His new website is under construction these days.
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