Penniless maid’s daughter completes two majors with distinction

Gulf News

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00:00Three years ago, Indian teenager Shahra Jaffer Ali was sitting in her one-bedroom house in

00:09Nadal Sheba, just behind this wall, twiddling her thumb waiting for a miracle to happen.

00:14She was sitting amidst a number of trophies and awards that she had won for academics

00:19and sports at her school in Dubai. But that, unfortunately, was not getting her to college.

00:25Her Sri Lankan mother, who worked as a housemaid for an Emirati household, had just broken some

00:30bad news to her. She was not going to college because she could not afford to pay her tuition

00:37fees.

00:55Shahra was not one to get bogged down. She contacted Express, seeking help for her situation.

01:20I lost my dad and we had no financial support. We didn't know whether we were going to live

01:29in Dubai. And my mom was from Sri Lanka and my dad was from India. My mom owns a Sri Lankan

01:34passport and we own an Indian passport. So we can't go back to India. Somehow, she has

01:42to study and grow up. She was the woman, she stood beside me and was like, yes, go

01:50to the newspaper. It's fine. Just go and see what, take risks.

01:54Shahra's story reached out to many a good Samaritans, but the biggest support came from

01:59Australia's Murdoch University, which granted her a 100% scholarship for a three-year undergraduate

02:05program in computer science.

02:07To be honest, I didn't know where Murdoch University was and I didn't know what sort

02:13of courses they offered or something. I called my brother, I told him to check everything,

02:18the courses, everything. And yes, that moment, everything changed. That was the day that

02:24my life was upside down and it wasn't at a good pace. It was great. It felt great.

02:30I was really touched by how talented she was and the fact that she was not going to be

02:36able to get a university education because of lack of funds. When Murdoch University

02:41was founded, it was founded with the idea of making education available as broadly as

02:46possible. As Murdoch's infrastructure provider in Dubai, Global Institute Middle East decided

02:53to fully fund a scholarship so that Shahra could go to Murdoch because we fully believe

02:58that education should be made available to everyone.

03:02Fast forward, and Shahra has graduated with distinction in not one major, but two. Computer

03:07Science and Business Information Systems. At a ceremony held at the Address Hotel in

03:12Dubai Mall, she was also given the coveted Vice Chancellor's Award for Academic Excellence,

03:17given to less than 2% of students for a perfect high distinction.

03:22She fully took advantage of the opportunity when given the scholarship. Shahra is a naturally

03:28bright student, but of anyone in the IT program, I've never seen someone work harder. She was

03:35here every day, she attended every class, did every assignment, and really worked hard

03:40all the way through. She truly earned the Vice Chancellor's commendation and her degree,

03:47and because she did such a good job, it was a real honor for us to be able to hire her

03:51and have her become part of the faculty so that now she can pass on the blessing that

03:56she got to the other students. We're extremely proud of all that she's done.

04:01God has really been kind to me, and I can never forget the help that I have been given.

04:07I'm really grateful for Goblin Institute to offer me a 100% scholarship. They also offered

04:1375% scholarship for my brother. My mom has worked really hard, she's sacrificed so many

04:18things, so I guess it's my time to pay her back.

04:26I want to thank all the people who have helped me. I expect that they will help me in the

04:32future. I have two more brothers after him. God willing, when she's done, she'll help

04:38those who are like her. That's what I'm telling her. They'll do it. I hope so.

04:48Destiny may have favored this young girl, but nobody can take away the fact that she

05:13worked hard to get where she is today. She was given an opportunity, and she took full

05:18advantage of it. Do you want to be a good Samaritan yourself and bring a smile to someone's

05:23face? Take inspiration from Shahra's story. Anjana Kumar, Express.

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