I am quite touched by this inbox message I received from a young lady residing in Durban.
"Salaams Sis , I was looking at your pics , awesome , breath-taking , your holiday pics . you know you very very blessed . Some ppl only go to places like that in their dreams . While many of us just try to get by and eke a living , to many, a visit to the corner store to buy a few goodies is a dream to cherish , usually once a month . How I wish I could see the beautiful places you visit , how I wish I could feel and taste the foreign air that you breathe on your magnificent holidays .... Of all the places I wish to visit , what my heart longs and yearns for, is to visit the Roza Mubarak of Our Beloved Nabi (saw) . If I should be so lucky . You truly blessed . Just wanted to share ....listen to you , love your Arab News , take care , Salaams"
To the poster, firstly thank you so much for the kind words and I am glad that you do enjoy the Arab news segment on Radio Al-Ansaar. It definitely encourages me to put together an entertaining news bulletin for all the listeners out there. However, I do sense some negativity in your inbox message or perhaps an underlying sadness. My pictures may portray a fun life of travels and exploration but no one will ever know how difficult it was to reach this point in my life. Nothing in life comes easy and I was definitely not brought up with a silver spoon in my mouth. We grew up in a small council home. In fact the house was so small that it was one step to the bathroom, another step to the toilet, one more step to the kitchen and so forth. But we were happy and content. Contrary to what most people think, I went to a normal government school and did a lot of extra work and tuition at home. We only had one car that dad used to go to work and hence mom did a lot of walking. When mom eventually got a car it was an old rickety vehicle a Peugeot 504. I still remember the number plate lol GTG451T. Whilst many of the suburban women and kids would mock at the vehicle, it never really bothered us in the least. We were grateful that we didn't have to walk any more. We had a car to take us from point A to point B. As a young child I had dreams of being in the medical field and traveling the world interacting with people who were different from me and of course learning about other cultures, customs and traditions. I recall one day whilst driving home from my nani's house with my folks, I was browsing through a newspaper in the car. I was paging through the travel section in the newspaper and I seen pictures of Mauritius. In my mind I said, insha Allah one day I will go there too. Believe it or not I landed up going not once but twice. Everyone in life is born with a different life story and destiny.Each one of us has our own purpose on earth that we need to fulfill. We all come to this world empty handed and it is up to us to fill up the pages of our life story. Whether you brought up in a poor home or a rich home, whether you reside in a rich suburb or an informal settlement our life story is completely dependent on us. There should be no room in your life for negativity. Words such as impossible or "I can't" should never ever cross your mind. Alhamdulilla I do feel blessed and I am really grateful for everything the Almighty has bestowed me with. I never ever thought in my wildest dreams that one day I will have a successful career and travel the world. A lot of my success I credit to my family, my parents especially and of course my grand parents and moms sisters who were always there to support me through my studies. Success in life my dear starts off with a dream and it is up to us to make that dream a reality. There is no short cuts to being successful. It always comes with hard work and perseverance. May Allah fulfill all your dreams and grant you success in both worlds!! Ameen.....
