BIOGRAPHY
Farah Ahmedi
Farah Ahmedi was born in Afghanistan. Although her country was at war, she had a happy life with her father, mother, brothers, and sisters.
But when Farah was seven years old, something terrible happened. As she crossed a field, she stepped on a land mine, and it exploded. Farah survived, but she lost her left leg. She had to get a prosthetic leg to help her walk.
Then, two years later, a bomb hit her house. It killed her father and sisters.
A few months later, her brothers left home and were never heard from again.
Farah and her mother were alone.
At this time, the laws in Afghanistan said women could not go anywhere in public without a male relative. Farah and her mother could not go to work, school, or even the store.
Farah and her mother decided they had to leave their country in order to be free.
They crossed into Pakistan by walking over the mountains. The path was steep, and it was a risk with Farah’s prosthetic leg. But she did not let it slow her down.
Farah and her mother made it safely to Pakistan. After many more hardships, they came to the United States.
Today, Farah and her mother live in Illinois. She works with an international group that clears minefields around the world. She also runs a foundation to help other amputees.
“I lost my leg, I lost my family, I am out from my country, but I never gave up,” Farah says. “And I will keep going.”