A doer knows no barrier

Ashraful Alam Sami is a doer, prevailing against all odds.

The 17-year-old, despite his physical disabilities, has persevered in his studies and is also working as a freelancer to contribute to his family with hard work and sheer willpower.

According to doctors, Sami sustained damage to his brain nerves caused by excessive pressure on the head while being delivered during his birth. Due to this, he was born with narrow hands, feet, and jaw, and had poor physical development growing up. He even has difficulty walking. Even then, nothing could deter him from making his mark.

Born to Meer Sazzad Hossain Tanveer, a rental car driver, and Kakoli Parveen, a teacher at a local government primary school in Kazibari village under Gopalpur upazila in Tangail, Sami has been a good student at school from the very beginning.

With his sincere effort and interest, Sami earned GPA 5 in primary (PSC), junior (JSC), and secondary school certificate (SSC) examinations. He also received a total of seven scholarships, including in the talent pool, at the primary and secondary school levels.

He is now a second-year student at Gopalpur Govt College and is expecting to do well in his higher secondary examinations (HSC).

Md Moniruzzaman, principal of the college, said Sami is a very talented student despite his physical disabilities.

Atiqur Rahman, headteacher of Suti VM Pilot Model High School in Gopalpur, from where Sami completed his SSC, said students, teachers, and school authorities have been impressed by Sami's talent.

Sajib Miah, a fellow student, said, "Sami is a very good student. His handwriting is beautiful. We get a lot of support from him with our studies."

His mother Kakoli said, "Early on, Sami could not eat solid food due to his physical condition. He had to be given liquid food till nine years of age. Later, he gradually learned to eat solid food over time. He also has slow and unclear speech."

"Initially, I used to take him to school on my lap. Later, when he was in fourth grade, we bought him a small bicycle, which he used to ride to school. His teachers, school staffers, and fellow students also helped him in different ways," she said.

"Sami is good in English. Three years ago, we bought him a smartphone, with which he gradually learned to work as an online freelancer. At present, he is doing well in freelancing besides his studies and has earned foreign currencies worth around Tk 80,000 in the last three months," Kakoli added.

"We took our son to many prominent doctors in the country for treatment, but his disabilities were beyond recovery," said his father Sazzad Hossain.

Sami was last consulted by a five-member board of Japanese doctors at Haluaghat Missionary Hospital in Mymensingh. They said although Sami can make some improvements through physical exercise, there is no chance of full recovery from his condition.

"I had stroke twice and can no longer work. The family runs on the income of my wife. Sami has also started contributing to the family. I hope he successfully completes higher studies and gets a government job in future," he added.

Sami said he has been doing surveys on various international sites.

"I aspire to become a software engineer in the future," he added.