《A daughter of Pakistan, born again in China》

Name: WARDA KHALID
Nationality: Pakistan
University: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan

My name is Warda which means "Flower," but wait before you think or imagine a flower; let me tell you that I'm a flower that grew from concrete. I was a struggling stammering girl since childhood, or you can say the day I was born; the struggle started on the same day because my father did second marriage before, I came to this world. I don’t know what father love is, and I lost his physical appearance at 9 when I needed that sky the most. Going through hardships in my life, when I was 14, my mother lost her vision. Dr. said that due to the dryness in her eyes, she could not get her vision back. I was completely helpless, but I never stopped struggling. We are five siblings, and I'm the second last in my family and the youngest daughter. From high school (grade 11), I never stopped struggling, giving home tuition, doing part-time jobs like typing work, and even teaching students for free to let them know about my abilities. When I came to China in 2019, I came here with several loans because I had no money to survive. Mothe has no vision, no father, and is the youngest daughter. My other siblings stopped their education because of our financial issues, but seeing the ignorance of some relatives and the rude behavior of close ones made me think about doing something for my family. It is rightly said, born poor isn't a choice, but being dead poor is a choice.

In 2019 I got selected for the prestigious scholarship awarded by the Chinese Government and admitted to the CUG, Wuhan. September 2nd, it was my birthday. I went to another city alone, at 3 AM midnight, for Visa. Having just 5000pkr, which is almost 200RMBs in my pocket, the driver asked me where I was going alone at this time because, in Pakistan, girls usually don't travel independently at midnight. I traveled from Karachi to Islamabad; I suffered from a high fever, but instead of going to the doctor, I went to the VISA office (Gerry) because I had no place to live. My aunt arranged a place for me with her in-laws for a night as I suffered from a high fever. They took care of me, gave me medicines, and when I received my VISA, I returned home. On September 11th, I reached to China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.

After coming to China with a 6500 RMB loan from my uncle, I came here and started Praying that God please bring back my mother's vision; I can't see her like this, even though I was going through my battles too. As the youngest child, who needed the care most, I couldn't see my mother like this. I was depressed, but I never lost hope. I got my double stipend together, and I sent that to my Mom in Pakistan for her eye operation. The day I heard my mom get her vision back was one of the happiest days of my life. I appreciate the stipend amount the Chinese Government gave as it also helped me clear my previous loans. The habit of my stammering also disappeared with time.

In CUG, I had the most memorable time of my life. My Mentor, Professor Peng Liu, actually made me an independent researcher. He sometimes smiled because the day he scolded me, the same day I went to him again for the next assignment. He always welcomed me because I have a nature of never giving up. He pushed me so hard in research, he always asked me to find solutions by myself, and I never disappointed him because his trust in me never let me lose hope. I ended up Publishing my first manuscript in the best Environment Journal, i.e., CHEMOSPHERE. Not just Professor Liu, but my Chinese Lab mates helped me and made me familiar with the lab equipments. Tang and Liu Xin were my strongest supporters in the lab. The cooperation of the international office of CUG, including Teacher Monica, Teacher Angela, Teacher King Luo, Teacher Jacky, Teacher Tommy, and others, were no less than anything. Dean Xu especially played an important role in nourishing my personality. I also find two best friends, Asmat Ali and Abdur Rashid, from Pakistan. They supported me throughout and played an important role in my life.

Now with several achievements in my life, awarded as an outstanding graduate student of 2022, the first female of our CUG who published a high-impact manuscript also presented herself on the silk road doctor forum and grabbed a job in Zijin Mining Group as an Environment Engineer has completely changed my life. In Zijin, I found the most cooperative Leaders and colleagues.

I always say that CUG made this Zero a Hero today. Now I'm getting well-paid by Zijin group with several different facilities. It's a feeling of being born again in this beautiful country, China. This country also gives me my name, i.e., Xiaomi, a famous brand in China. After spending more than three years in China, I realize Chinese people respect and love hardworking people who belong to any culture and religion. If I get a chance to do something for this beautiful country, I'm ready to sacrifice myself as after Pakistan; this is my second home, and the example of friendship between these two countries shouldn't be less than written in golden words. I always appreciate and respect China because it teaches me, "Every sad story can have a happy ending, which must need hard work and consistency."