Remembering Arfa Karim (1995 – Forever)

Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa, born on 2^nd February, 1995 was more than just a brilliant student. The nine years old Arfa brought home the title of the World’s youngest ‘Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)’ in 2004. Impressed by this, Microsoft CEO and founder, Bill Gates invited Arfa to the United States to spend one day at the Microsoft headquarters. On 2 August 2005, Arfa was presented the Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology. She also received the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award in August 2005 from the President of Pakistan. Arfa is also the recipient of the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. She is the youngest recipient of this award. She was made brand ambassador for Pakistan Telecommunication Company’s 3G Wireless Broadband service named EVO in January 2010. This computer prodigy also represented Pakistan on various international forums including the TechEd Developers Conference. She was the only Pakistani among over 5000 developers in that conference.

Such achievements and brilliance brought Arfa Karim well-deserved fame. However, her humbleness and modesty always surprised people around her. She was known for her radiant laugh and a melodic voice. Arfa did not publicize her singing voice due to personal reasons, however, her voice was acknowledged within her local circle for being melodious. Her SAT scores and O-level grades were beyond excellent yet, that surprised nobody, for everyone expected such brilliance from her.

On 22^nd December, 2011, being 16 years of age, Arfa Karim suffered a cardiac arrest. She was preparing for her exams those days when her health started deteriorating immediately. The cardiac arrest led to severe brain damage, causing Arfa to go into a comma where she could only breathe on a ventilator. On 9 January 2012, Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, contacted Arfa’s father to offer any help required.

Arfa died in hospital at Lahore on 14 January 2012. On 15 January 2012, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced that the name of Lahore Technology Park would be changed to Arfa Software Technology Park. Pakistan still moans over the death of someone so precious to the country, however, her achievements never fail to make Pakistanis proud around the world. 

 Post by Amna Ahsan