I don’t remember when I contracted polio; I woke up to this. It is very difficult for me to walk or get on and off a bus. It takes me time and the bus drivers don’t wait for me. It is an issue to get to university and back.

My life would have been completely different without polio. I would have become a cricket star, I would have not been bullied at school, I could have earned more, and I could have traveled around the world.

Life gives us challenges – it’s up to us how you deal with them. Like so many polio survivors, I could find my way in life despite the difficulties. I have been able to continue my education successfully while also doing work.

I go house to house in my community during the vaccination campaign to tell people: look at me, do you want your children to become paralyzed like me? If not, then let them take the vaccine, they are the future of our country.

We need to convince people that the drops of the vaccine are in the interest of their children. We must get together to kick polio out of Pakistan and the entire world.

Ataullah Khan
University Student
Karachi, Sindh Province