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Arfa Karim | |
|---|---|
ارفع کریم | |
 Karim c. 2005 | |
| Born | Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa 2 February 1995 Faisalabad, Pakistan |
| Died | 14 January 2012 (aged 16) Combined Military Hospital Lahore, Pakistan |
| Cause of death | Cardiac arrest due to epileptic seizure |
| Resting place | Ram Diwali, Faisalabad |
| Alma mater | Lahore Grammar School, Paragon City Branch |
| Known for | World's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, 2004–2008[1][2] |
| Awards | |
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Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa (b. February 2, 1995, Faisalabad, Pakistan – d. January 14, 2012, Lahore, Pakistan) was a Pakistani student and computer prodigy who became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in 2004. She was submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records for her achievement. Arfa kept the title until 2008 and went on to represent Pakistan on various international forums, including the TechEd Developers Conference. She received Pakistan's highest literary award, the Presidential Pride of Performance from General Pervez Musharraf in 2005. A science park in Lahore, the Arfa Software Technology Park, is named in her honor. At the age of 10, Arfa was invited by Bill Gates to visit Microsoft's headquarters in the United States. She died in 2012, aged 16, from a cardiac arrest.
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Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa (Urdu: ارفع کریم رندھاوا, Punjabi: ارفع کریم رندھاوا; 2 February 1995 – 14 January 2012) was a Pakistani student and computer prodigy who became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in 2004. She was submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records for her achievement.[3] Arfa kept the title until 2008 and went on to represent Pakistan on various international forums, including the TechEd Developers Conference. She received Pakistan's highest literary award, the Presidential Pride of Performance from General Pervez Musharraf in 2005. A science park in Lahore, the Arfa Software Technology Park, is named in her honour.[4][5][6][7] At the age of 10, Arfa was invited by Bill Gates to visit Microsoft's headquarters in the United States.[8] She died in 2012, aged 16, from a cardiac arrest.
Biography
[edit]Early life
[edit]Randhawa was born into an ethnic Punjabi family from Ram Diwali in Faisalabad District, Punjab, Pakistan.[citation needed]
Career
[edit]After returning to Pakistan from a visit to the Microsoft headquarters, Randhawa gave numerous television and newspaper interviews. S. Somasegar, the vice president of Microsoft's Software Development Division, wrote about her in his blog.[7] On 2 August 2005, Arfa was presented the Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology by the prime minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz at the 113th anniversary of Fatima Jinnah's birth.[9] She also received the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award in August 2005 from the president of Pakistan.[10] Randhawa received the President's Award for Pride of Performance in 2005,[11] a civil award usually granted to people who have shown excellence in their respective fields over a long period of time; she is the youngest recipient of this award. She was made brand ambassador for Pakistan Telecommunication Company's 3G Wireless Broadband service, "EVO", in January 2010.[12]
Recognition
[edit]Upon her return from the US, Randhawa became an icon in Pakistan.[13] She was interviewed by various channels, invited to several international conferences and summits, and received awards from the president and prime minister of Pakistan.[14] In 2006, Microsoft invited her to be the keynote speaker at the Tech-Ed developers conference held in Barcelona.[11]
Representation at international forums
[edit]Randhawa represented Pakistan on various international forums and was invited by the Pakistan Information Technology Professionals Forum for a two-week stay in Dubai, where a dinner reception was hosted in her honour; Dubai dignitaries, including the Ambassador of Pakistan, attended. She was presented with various awards and gifts, including a laptop.[15] In November 2006, Randhawa attended the Tech-Ed Developers conference themed Get Ahead of The Game held in after receiving an invitation from Microsoft.[11] She was the only Pakistani among over 5000 developers in that conference.[16]
Death
[edit]In 2011, Randhawa was studying at the Lahore Grammar School Paragon Campus in her second year of A-levels. On 22 December 2011, she had a cardiac arrest after an epileptic seizure that damaged her brain and was admitted to Lahore's Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in critical condition.[6]
On 9 January 2012, Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, contacted Randhawa's parents and directed her doctors to adopt "every kind of measure" for her treatment. Gates set up a special panel of international doctors who remained in contact with her local doctors through teleconference. The panel assisted in diagnosing and treating her illness.[17] Local doctors dismissed the option of moving Randhawa to another hospital due to her being on a ventilator and in critical condition. Members of her family have lauded Bill Gates for offering to bear her treatment expenses.[18]
Randhawa began to improve on 13 January 2012, and some areas of her brain began to show indications of healing. Microsoft had discussed flying her to the United States for treatment, according to her father, Amjad Abdul Karim Randhawa.[19]
Randhawa died at a hospital in Lahore on 14 January 2012, aged 16. Her funeral, which was held on the following day, was attended by the Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif. She was buried in her ancestral village Chak No. 4JB Ram Diwali, on Faisalabad-Sargodha Road Faisalabad.[20]
Arfa Software Technology Park
[edit]Arfa Software Technology Park is the country's largest Information and Communications Technology Park located in Lahore.[21] The seventeen-storey building is the first international standard facility in Pakistan.[21] The project started under the name "Lahore Technology Park" before being renamed "Arfa Software Technology Park" on 15 January 2012.[21] There is a permanent secretariat of the Arfa Karim Foundation at the Arfa Software Technology Park.[22]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "Geo.tv: Latest News Breaking Pakistan, World, Live Videos". geo.tv. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "Arfa Karim Late - The Youngest Microsoft Certified Professional from Pakistan". Matics Today. 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- ^ "Arfa Karim in Guinness Book". The Express Tribune. 23 August 2017. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ "Software Technology Park name changed to Arfa Software Technology Park". The News (newspaper). 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ "9-year-old earns accolade as Microsoft pro". Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Remembering a remarkable girl who made a mark on Microsoft". 30 December 2011. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Arfa Karim Randhawa young IT child prodigy | Pakistan's youngest MCP". 2 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
- ^ In smarts, she's a perfect 10 – Seattle Pi Archived 14 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Fatima Jinnah Award given to 59 personalities". DAWN. 3 August 2005. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ Technology: 'Shining Pakistan' – DAWN Science; 10 September 2005. Archived 21 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Dawn.com (14 January 2012). "Arfa Karim passes away in Lahore". Dawn. Pakistan. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ "PTCL striving hard to provide best services". Daily Times. 24 January 2010. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ "Arfa Karim a wonder child of Pakistan". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ "Arfa Karim: The sun sets in the East". Pakistan Today. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Child prodigy honoured". DAWN. 27 August 2005. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ "Arfa Abdul Karim's funeral prayer offered in Lahore". Samaa News. 15 January 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ Report, Dawn (15 January 2012). "Arfa loses fight against epilepsy". Dawn. Pakistan. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ "Bill Gates contacts Arfa's father for treatment". Geo.tv. 7 January 2012. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ "Arfa Karim remembered". The News International. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "The Express Tribune newspaper, Published 15 Jan 2012, Retrieved 22 Dec 2016". Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ a b c "Arfa Software Technology Park | PITB". Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Shahbaz praises Arfa; inaugurates IT Park". The Nation. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
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Arfa Karim passes away: Whiz kid loses battle for her life
Aarifa Karim had been admitted to the CMH hospital on December 22, after suffering a cardiac arrest.
The teenage genius suffered an attack on that which had given her recognition and made her a source of inspiration for young and old across the country – her brain. Arfa had an epileptic attack on December 22 and had been in a coma since, while well-wishers prayed and watched her progress closely.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Major Ahsan Randhawa, Arfa’s uncle, articulated the family’s grief as best as he could. “We are grieving her loss but she was a strong child”, he said – adding “she was God’s gift to us and now she has returned to Him”.
Arfa is to be buried in her ancestral village, close to Faisalabad. She had always identified herself with her roots, and had said proudly once that although she came from a ‘low-profile’ family, she wanted to study all over the world and then come back to help the people in her village.
The child prodigy, who was on life support at the Intensive Care Unit while the nation watched with bated breath, suffered a complication on Saturday evening when she was shifted to the emergency room. Major Ahsan Randhawa said that a tracheotomy tube (tracheal tube entered into the trachea through a minor incision), which had been recently inserted to facilitate her breathing, resulted in bleeding in the throat. Previously the tracheal tube had been inserted via her mouth. She was immediately shifted to the operating theatre where Arfa lost her battle for life.
Major Ahsan Randhawa added that Arfa had been doing fine prior to the complication. ”She had no complication prior to the bleeding,” he said adding “everything just happened so suddenly”. Arfa was declared dead soon after.
“She wasn’t being operated for surgery, she had been shifted to emergency because of the bleeding,” he said.
Arfa’s funeral prayers will be offered at the Ayub stadium in Cantonment at 10 am on Sunday. Later, her body will be shifted to Faisalabad where another funeral prayer will be offered at D Ground in People’s Colony in Faisalabad at 2 pm.
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