**Small Wonder from Pakistan **
Here is the latest girl wonder from pakistan, Read the interview, she sounds so cute and intelligent 
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http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/apr2005-weekly/us-15-04-2005/p11.htm#a
Arfa Karim is Pakistanâs girl wonder. Barely ten, this superbly confident girl stunned the IT professionals by becoming the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in Pakistan. Arfa has the singular distinction of being the youngest girl in the world to have passed this exam. :k:
On March 30, 2005, Mir Khalil ur Rehman Foundation (MKRF), along with their partner in this venture; Microsoft held the Shaabash Award Ceremony to honour Arfa. Shahrukh Hasan, GME Jang Group presented her with a trophy and Microsoft Regional Head Emre Berkin presented Arfa with a desk PC and a lot of software for her future requirements. Arfa is the first recipient of Shaabash Award. Microsoft Country Manager Jawwad Rehman and Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqi were also present on the occasion.
âShabaashâ - an excellence award - is conferred upon shining individuals in Pakistan for achieving excellence in their respective fields of work, notably in pursuit of education, in line with MKRFâs drive âParho aur Agay Barhoâ.
After receiving her award, Arfa talked to âUsâ and spoke eloquently about her future plans. She answered the questions in a very forthright, confident and engaging manner. She was exhilarated but calm and seemed mature beyond her years.
*Us: Tell Us a little about your family *
AK: My father, Major Amjad Karim, is an army officer. My mom is a landlady. She looks after our land affairs in the absence of my father. I have two brothers and no sister. My younger brother Sarmad is seven-and-a-half and Dawood, my youngest brother is only three.
We are an agricultural family from Faisalabad. We have a dairy farm near Tandlianwala, which is near Faisalabad.
*Us: Where do you study? *
AK: At present I attend City School, Multan. Before that, I was studying in Faisalabad.
*Us: At what age did you start working on computers? *
AK: I think at six, when I was in class one.
*Us: How did you develop interest in software? *
AK: When I was in kindergarten, I often used to pass by the computer labs and see students doing work on computers. I realised that calculation, which would take us a long time to do can be done by computers in seconds. So that is how my interest in computers began. I started to explore computers on my own. Then I went to Aptech for further studies.
*Us: How did you get admission there? You must have been even younger then. *
AK: When I went there to get admission, they told my father, âWe canât take her, she is too young.â But my father asked them to test me. I cleared their test and got admission.
*Us: How did your parents help you? *
AK: They encouraged me a lot. There are many geniuses in the country, but they have to be provided with proper opportunities, otherwise their mind is wasted. My parents provided the opportunity by giving me a P4 computer at home for my practice. And now my father plans to give me a laptop. After that, I plan to buy a palmtop.
*Us: Have you won any other awards in IT competitions before? *
AK: No, this is the first one.
*Us: What was the role of your schoolteachers in this regard? *
AK: They also encouraged me. I learned the basics from my schoolteachers.
*Us: What do you plan to do now? *
AK: Now I have to complete all my MCSD.NET. Itâs a certification of which the first paper I have cleared.
*Us: How many more papers are left? *
AK: Four more papers are still left. I have to clear them and the last exam. Then I will also have to interact with the company and develop software for them.
*Us: What are your future plans? *
AK: My short-term objective is to clear MCSD. My mid-term objective is to get straight Aâs in O and A-levels. My ultimate objective, that is the long-term objective, is to do software and satellite engineering and become a developer evangelist at Microsoft. A developer evangelist, you can say, is an inventor.
*Us: What are your other hobbies and how do you relax? *
AK: I like reading. I like to read novels and autobiographies. Childrenâs author Enid Blyton is my favourite. I have a very good collection of Enid Blyton. I also read Sweet Valley and Harry Potter books.
I also like gardening.
*Us: Do you read books about IT in your free time? *
AK: Not about IT, because IT means studies for me.
*Us: Do you watch TV? *
AK: Yes, of course, I canât live without it.
*Us: What is your favourite TV programme? *
AK: I love watching cartoons on Cartoon Network. Every time when I am free, I switch on the TV and whatever is on cartoon network I sit and watch it.
*Us: What about music, does it interest you? Which is your favourite band? *
AK: I have won many singing competitions, but my priority is not singing. It is not a career that is considered suitable for girls in our society. I used to sing every time there was a wedding or a gathering. All my cousins and brothers used to give me a mike and asked me to sing. But I told them that I didnât want to be recognised as a singer. I donât like it that much. As fun it is okay, but not as a career.
I donât have a favourite band because I donât like bands. They do not have quality signers, like there used to be.
*Us: Who are your favourite âqualityâ singers? *
AK: I like Humera Arshad and Abrarul Haq.
*Us: What about the usual funky singers children like, like Atif, donât you like him? *
AK: He has a very good voice. But he became famous at a very young age so he has become very arrogant. That is why I do not like him. :hehe:
*Us: How do you know he is arrogant? *
AK: He acts arrogant.
*Us: How do you feel about winning this award? *
AK: I feel very excited, very happy. I will go home and then place it in my drawing room where my other shields are placed.
*Us: How many shields and awards did you win before the Shaabash Award? *
AK: I won a shield at the Third All Pakistan Singing Competition. It was held in Muridke at Chandbagh School. I participated in it and got second position. I was the youngest participant over there from my branch i.e. the Faisalabad Branch of City School. At this competition I sang Faiz Ahmed Faizâs âMujh say pehli si mohabbatâ.
I have also won many certificates, but few shields because shields were not that much in vogue at that time, certificates were âin.â so they used to give me certificates. And I also won a shield for getting first position in my class, in all the three sections.
*Us: Now you are going to be very famous. How are you going to cope with that? You are now a star. *
AK: But I donât behave like a star in my family. I am just normal, ordinary âArfaâ in my family.
*Us: Any message to âUsâ readers? *
AK: If you want to do something big in your life, just remember that shyness is only in the mind. If you think shy, you act shy. But if you think confident, you act confident. So, never let shyness conquer your mind.
*Us: Is this a quotation or your original thought? *
AK: This is my original thought.
That is quiet amazing!
That makes her anything but Indian:D
she is such a sweet pie.