For Immediate Release
Contact:  Jason Gerwig
630/407-6022
July 26, 2007

CSBG SCHOLARSHIP PRODUCES TEENAGE AUTHOR

WHEATON— Farah Ahmedi, a refugee from war-torn Afghanistan, is one of many students who have benefited from the Community Service Block Grant scholarship, which was created 17 years ago by the DuPage County Department of Community Services.  As a result of this scholarship, Farah has gone on to publish a book about her life in Afghanistan. 

DuPage County Board Member Kyle Gilgis (District 3) says Farah’s story is one everyone in DuPage should know about.

“Farah’s story is an inspiration to us all,” said Kyle Gilgis (District 3).  “That she was able to overcome such adversity and had to face so many challenges, many that most of us cannot even begin to fathom, is awe-inspiring.  Her story also tells the success of the CSBG scholarship program that our County has been proud to administer.”

Farah, who just completed her first year at North Central College in Naperville, was a recipient of this scholarship after she arrived in America as a refugee from Kabul Afghanistan.

Just seven years old, Farah stepped on a land mine on her way to school in Kabul.  As a result of her injury, she spent the next two years in a hospital in Germany — away from her family — while Doctors tried to save her legs. One leg had to be amputated and the other was fused and remains rigid.   

Soon after returning home from Germany, a rocket hit her home while she and her mother were away at the bazaar. Sadly, her father and sisters were killed in the explosion. Farah and her mother had to leave Afghanistan in order to survive, taking only what they could carry to walk across the mountains of Afghanistan. They had to travel by night following a smugglers’ path into Pakistan.

Since coming to America, Farah has spent time traveling and speaking to groups and schools. She has helped educate people about amputees and she has written a book titled “The Story of My Life, An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky” published by Simon and Schuster (2005).

“Farah’s story is one of hope and determination. It is a story of a girl who refused to give up in spite of insurmountable odds,” said Gilgis.  “This courageous young lady is living proof that the spirit can endure and be healed.”

The Community Service Block Grant Scholarship is a federally funded program through the State of Illinois.  There are no corporate or private dollars involved through this program.  The funding supplements the cost of tuition, books, supplies and other school-related items for a semester or a quarter helping to offset the student’s need.

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