Hi Kanchan, Hats of you to have an excellent network. Thanks for your warm word of encouragement. Asif
-----Original Message----- From: AccessIndia [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kanchan Pamnani Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 6:29 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [AI] Fw: PwC employee Mohammed Asif Iqbal has won an REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship Congratulations Asif. This was forwarded by a friend from PWC. Kanchan PwC employee Mohammed Asif Iqbal has won an REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship > > Mohammed Asif Iqbal has won an REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship award > instituted by United Nations and International > Confederation of NGO for being a community change champion > > > > > > > > > > The award ceremony was held in New Delhi on 28 February, 2014. That isn't > all. A leading newspaper in Oregon, US also did a > story on Asif, which was published on 26 February. > > > Here is the link: > > > http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014302260078 > > > Full story below: > > > Former Dallas resident is always an advocate > > > Iqbal credits his time in Oregon for his drive to fight for rights > > > Feb. 26, 2014 | > > Asif Iqbal appreciates every chance he gets to visit his home away from > home. He loves catching up with family and friends > and filling up on the delicacies he misses most, especially waffles and > pancakes. > > > Asif — pronounced AH-sif — is from India, but he also calls the > Mid-Willamette Valley home. > He came here as a child to live with a relative in Dallas with hopes of > getting an education and perhaps even finding a cure > for his failing eyesight. He left with a gift far more profound. > “Today, whatever I am is because of the American education I had,” said > Asif, who is blind. “I learned how to think, dream, > live independently and fight for rights.” > He made a quick visit home last week in conjunction with a business trip > to Washington, D.C., and graciously spared the time > to meet for coffee. Looking dapper in a striped shirt and diamond-print > tie, he was joined by two people who have had as much > influence on his life as anyone — his American mom Rebecca Bordreaux and > his former teacher Norm Jordan. > They beamed with pride as we talked about all that has transpired since > Asif attended Dallas High School two decades ago. He > was involved with the theater program and was one of the commencement > speakers when he graduated in 1995. > Today Asif is a consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the world’s > second-largest professional services firm, with offices in > 776 cities across 157 countries. He also is somewhat of a celebrity in > India, joking with Bordreaux that the paparazzi are > always with him. > He has dined with the former president of India to discuss technology > initiatives that would benefit the visually impaired, > and he has met with other national leaders to advise them on measures that > would improve the lives of the disabled. > He helped establish disabled-friendly guidelines for Indian airports, for > example, and has been recognized in the past for > his advocacy. Perhaps none of the awards is as prestigious as the one he > is about to receive: a REX Karmaveer Global > Fellowship instituted in partnership with the United Nations. The > fellowships are given to Indians who are considered change > agents in their communities. > > Asif is humble about his accomplishments and, at age 37, you can’t help > but get the feeling he has only just begun to make a > difference. > “Without the foundation I got here, I think I would not have done > anything, honestly speaking,” said Asif, who is married and > has a 3-year-old daughter. Both his wife and daughter are sighted. > Asif has retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited degenerative eye disease that > causes severe vision impairment and often > blindness. There is no cure. > He had so much trouble learning at a young age in India that his teachers > recommended his parents withdraw him from school. > That’s when his father asked a cousin in Oregon, Dr. Mohammed Hoda, if he > would take in his son. > Hoda is a retired orthopedic surgeon who still lives in Dallas. He and > Bordreaux, his ex-wife, had help getting a student > visa for Asif from then-Sen. Mark Hatfield. He was 11 when he came to live > with them. > Asif faced challenges in school here, too, struggling with the language > and cultural differences. He battled depression over > losing his sight and in middle school was resistant to learning how to use > a cane. > “I wanted to be normal,” Asif said. > He lost his sight completely at 16, but not before the thrill of seeing a > whale during a trip to the Oregon Coast. > What Asif remembers most about the more than eight years he spent in > Dallas was the constant encouragement he received. > “In India, when you’re disabled, life is really, really challenging,” he > said. “In general, it is not very positive.” > Asif admitted he wasn’t always the best-behaved kid, or the most > motivated. But that’s not how Jordan, a vision specialist > for Willamette Education Service District, remembers him. > “He was so motivated very early to learn everything he needed to be > successful,” Jordan said. > Asif returned to India in 1997, and continued his education. He earned an > undergraduate degree in commerce and a master’s in > business administration in human resources, and was the first blind person > to do so in both cases. > What is remarkable is that he did it without the text-to-speech technology > he relies on today on his laptop and cell phone. > Back then he relied on fellow students to read the textbooks to him. > “I’m very proud of him,” Hoda said. “I think he’s quite an ambitious > person. His education (here) gave him more recognition > at home and allowed him to progress. > “I think it was his fate.” > > > > > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
