Today is the fifth death anniversary of the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional Arfa Karim Randhawa.
People from all walks of life paid rich tribute to tech prodigy Arfa Karim on her death anniversary at a condolence reference held on Friday.
Speaking at the condolence reference held at Lahore Press Club, Arfa’s father, Amjad Karim Randhawa said that he was proud of being the father of a tech genius.
“Where ever I go in the world, I am recognised as the father of Arfa Karim and that makes me feel very proud of my daughter,” he remarked. He thanked all the guests for gathering at the Lahore Press Club to remember Arfa. Recalling his obsession to help Arfa accomplish her dreams, Randhawa said that he used to leave his office early so that he could help her with anything she needed.
He said that there were two ways to remember Arfa, the first was to grieve over her death and the second was to work towards her mission – to attain education. He thanked and expressed his gratitude towards the people who supported him through the hard time when Arfa was ill and when she left this world.
Remembering his visit to the United States, he said: “The media in the USA was saying that this was another side of Pakistan and I told them that this was the only side of Pakistan.”
Prominent writer Munnu Bhai said that women and girls of Pakistan were the country’s biggest asset and there were many Arfa Karims here who were deprived of education and were not allowed to get out of their homes to achieve their dreams.
He said that there were several issues in the country which should be acknowledged as it was the only way to overcome the problems related to girls’ education. “We need to empower the women of this country,” he concluded.
The reference ended with participants lighting candles at the Lahore Press Club.
Arfa Karim Randhawa had passed away on January 14, 2012, after suffering from an epileptic attack.
Her untimely death at the tender age of 16 had saddened people in Pakistan and abroad, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates conferred the degree upon the then youngest professional in 2004 and she kept the title till 2008. She was invited by Bill Gates to visit Microsoft Headquarters in the US.
Born on February 2, 1995, Arfa Karim exhibited her excellent skills in the filed of Information Technology and completed her A Levels at Lahore Grammar School when she died of cardiac arrest on January 14, 2012 in Lahore.
Arfa Kareem was also presented Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal the field of Science and Technology by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz.
She was also conferred with the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award again in August 2005 from the President of Pakistan. Later on she was also given President’s Pride of Performance Award.
Punjab Government named its first ever Information Technology Park in Lahore after Arfa Karim.
