A labour of love

Haroon Khalid was in the news for scoring top marks in the SSC annual examinations among the boys with a score of 644 in the general group. Haroon, who is visually impaired, is one of the best students in the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School.

Awarding him with the Best Student of the Year trophy, the Pakistani Ambassador also gave Khalid a gift of Dhs 1,000. Another feather in his cap has been the gold medal from the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education in Islamabad. Other commendations include the Pakistan Professional's Forum gold medal and a recommendation for the President's Award.

Now, however, Khalid is making network waves for a totally different reason. He has memorised the Holy Quran completely. Using his holiday time constructively for five consecutive years, Khalid learnt the holy book which is available in Braille, and can now recite it by heart.

Beginning his formal education at a school for the blind in Pakistan, Haroon proved to be academically exceptional. He mastered in one year what other students did in five. This prompted his teachers to move him to a normal school. His mother says that from the age of two he begged to be taught the alphabet, and as he grew older he decided to learn the Holy Qur'an by himself.

Haroon would like to study further and since he feels that there are no facilities for the blind in Pakistan, he wishes to go to the U.S. or to Britain. The universities there are equipped with modern facilities for people like him. However, a lack of adequate funds is the handicap here, as his parents cannot afford such a high cost of education. Khalid dreams of studying law and becoming a judge. He has read that there is a blind judge serving in America and wishes to be like him. With one more year left in school, he hopes that he can continue his education with some help from a philanthropic group.

A lover of music, Khalid, who has a melodious voice, sings the Naat (devotional songs in praise of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Haroon also plays the piano and his favourite sport is cricket. The eldest among three brothers and a sister, he is very independent, helping with household chores and grocery shopping. He can also ride a bike quite well. He credits his parents for not pampering him and treating him like a normal person.