Make A Difference

I remember a few months ago , My friends and I were introduced to a man who would push us to make a difference . A man who forced us to look at things from a new perspective regardless of what the norm was .
I would love to mention his name but I would have to make sure it is okay with him . So for the time being let's call him Prof. A .

Prof A had a philosophy . In arabic: "إن لم تزد شيئا على الدنيا فأنت زائد عليها "  [If  you do not add anything to this world , then you are simply an addition/burden on it] and then he would ask you 

Are you simply an addition or do you have something to add? 

it's a simple statement yet so profound in meaning and very much true . After a 2 hour long conversation over dinner with prof.A . We were all very much inspired to make a difference , to leave something behind in a city that we had no tribal/family ties to.
After much thought we decided the best addition one could ever make was that of knowledge . like the famous quote " Give a man a fish and you have fed him for a day , teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime" . At the time we were 5 girls , so we decided to each financially support a child who could not afford education. Surprisingly we did not have to go far to find such children . a few doors away from our own house we found 3 familes with 8 children, all of which were staying at home yet of school age, and some loosing a parent.
Our initial plan was simply sponsoring 5 children , soon we had 2 other girls in and now we could sponsor 7 kids . At the time it was almost the end of the school year , so we decided to enroll them into a Quranic school . After explaining to the dugsii teacher what we wanted to do , he offered to take in the 8th kid as well free of charge .

I know it might seem like a very straighforward , easy to execute kinda plan right ? WRONG!!
In a Country that has been over exposed to NGO's and free handouts , the parents of the children were very skeptical of our intentions and in no time news was spreading of "These Arab girls who were working with an NGO and were offering to pay for tuition".  and as people estimated how much of the funding we were slipping into our pockets and how many thousands of dollars we were selfishly holding back , the clan ideology came into play : on more than one occasion we were told to help our Clan's needy instead of those we were not related to. - "Your people need it first" .

A few months later ,On eid we were able to give out a humble sum of money to the families of the children [3 families in total ] and an exceptional woman who herself raises 4 children by picking up trash from families for less than 25cents per pick up.
 Now we are planning on adding another 5 children to the Quranic School and this time an aunty from Saudi Arabia has taken up their sponsoring and paid an advance for 5 months.

In my opinion this is a very humble addition to a community that has given us personally the chance at a higher education. It is only fair to give back and hopefully InshAllah those of you reading this will be inspired to make a difference as well regardless of how big or small it may be . And in time I hope these very kids grow up and in turn give back to their communities and so forth .
- Contribute within your means , any way you can to your communities . Do it not for the love of fame , or for a name , or even with the expectations of an applause . Do it simply for the sake of leaving good behind and making a difference
 

Why I've been missing and My Year

So a few days ago , I finally remembered I had a blog that I loved so much from once upon a time and as I was going through it I realized I haven't been blogging as much.
 (understatement for 3 posts over 9 months hehe)
So here I am flexing my fingers , dusting off my grammar and punctuation to put together a semi decent post on why I've been MIA. 

2012 has definitely been a very tough year for my Family and I . Apart from the regular stresses of Uni and hospital rounds and what not . My dad was diagnosed with a stage 4 Esophageal cancer last Ramadan .

As a medical student we're always throwing out differential diagnosis on rounds and one of the answers you can never go wrong with is Cancer. The resident asks you what's your differential ?
Safest Answer : TB, Cancer. Infection. . Overtime we become desensitized and such horrible diseases are just answers to us .
 We don't really completely understand how devastating it is , not only to the patient but also to their entire family .

I remember once having a patient whose symptoms were so similar to my dad's. Diagnosing him was like diagnosing my father , and I kept subconsciously avoiding esophageal cancer even though his symptoms were classic for the case. 
 I knew that would mean there was a big chance my dad had a similar condition .I was in denial  

How Did I find Out ? 

 Just after Eid ('011) , my family decided to move to kenya after spending 6 months with us ,and I wasn't about to miss the trip so I  tagged along for what was left of my summer break. 
A day before we left to Nairobi , my mom was just going through the luggage and she found my Aaboo's medical reports . Like most moms she just passed it to me and my cousin (also a med student) to look at and maybe learn a thing or two from it .
A chance to test my skills and showoff what I've been learning for 4 years . We walked over to the other room , stood by the window and stared at the X-rays and CT Scans. Instantly my heart dropped but I wasn't about to jump to a disease that meant my dad was dying . So I stayed calm , pulled out the medical report and read what the radiologist had to say . - It was Cancer . 

Fast Forward to May 25th '012
My Uncle calls to let us know that Dad passed away .
After a 9 month battle with stage 4 esophageal Cancer, 2 rounds of chemo, and 2 stent placement surgeries .At the age of 54 Aabo was no more with us. 

So that's been most of my year summarized in a few paragraphs , Oh not to forget being suspended twice from Uni . But that is a post for another day ^_^  

PS: just a quick note I might as well squeeze in . I know how most Somalis neglect their health and avoid check ups and all.  But  I just want to emphasize how important and live saving that hour or two you take out of your day to get a check up could be . 

- Dont take your Health for Granted , It's a Blessing so cherish it ;)