Mr. Ahmad Zafran, 24, is working as a tutor while simultaneously pursuing a Degree and Master’s in the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
But it was not easy for him to get to where he is today.
He faced a challenging childhood with a series of medical conditions and mishaps but did not let his adversities stop him from achieving his best.
The Fall
Mr. Zafran was only a Secondary One student on his way to class when he was hit with vertigo and migraine, which caused him to lose his balance.
“During that two to three seconds, I only thought of one thing, if I’m going to fall, whatever it is, I’ll save my head first, I don’t care about my hand,” recounts Mr. Zafran.
So, Mr. Zafran instinctively used his hand to support his head, which caused him to break the ulna and radius in his right forearm.
He was brought to the hospital immediately to undergo surgery. It was fortunately successful, but he had to use an arm cast for three years.
The impact of the fall also injured his spine and caused permanent muscle weakness in his right arm. This affected his learning in school and forced him to adapt to Home-Based Learning (HBL) way before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
“I wasn’t able to carry any weight,” says Mr. Zafran. “I attended physical classes at school, but using a laptop… so basically, it was a whole culture change already.”
Other Medical Challenges
Mr. Zafran also suffers from a weakened immune system which causes him to have continuous fevers. This, adding to his arm injury and asthma attacks, resulted in Mr. Zafran only being able to attend school for about three to four months a year.
“One of the years, I didn’t attend school at all because I was having severe breathless attacks and fevers,” says Mr. Zafran.
His asthma also evolved to cause a hole in his heart which required him to undergo surgery at 18 years old.
Nonetheless, he persevered through these medical challenges and attained seven ‘A’s and a ‘B+’ for his Diploma in Accounting and Finance.
Tutoring
Mr. Zafran found his passion in wanting to “inspire the younger ones not to give up that they can succeed” despite their challenges, with effort and the right tutor.
He has been a tutor for the past three to four years — starting with teaching Mathematics, then branching out to Economics, Business Studies and Principals Of Accounting (POA) — but his students told him that his methods gave them the confidence to progress independently, and even carry them forward in their other subjects, giving him an immense sense of “personal satisfaction”.
Aside from using his earnings to pay for the cost of transport and materials, he normally donates his earnings to charity.
He also applied to voluntarily coach POA to imprisoned students or their family members and is awaiting approval from the management.
His passion for teaching and helping others clearly shines through.
“People will say that tutors want to take the job of the main teacher… tutors give more assignments to the tutees… I will say no… Our role is to actually help to complement the school, to improve the life of our students,” says Mr. Zafran. “Tutors are actually the bridge to ensure that the students are able to cross the path.”
Conclusion
The series of medical challenges that Mr. Zafran faced is unimaginable to many, but he retained a positive outlook on life and even continues to want to help others.
“I must ensure that with my limitation, I can help to inspire those people who actually suffer more injuries, or suffer more [setbacks], to be a better version of themselves,” says Mr. Zafran. “That is my thinking.”
Mr. Zafran is a registered tutor at SmileTutor. Request a tutor with us today.
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