Having a sponsor helped Fahad push through hard times

“There’s one story I think summarises pretty well how it was growing up. My brother and I were big fans of superheroes. When Spiderman 1 came out, my mum said to us, ‘Do you want to eat or do you want to watch Spiderman?’ We couldn’t afford both. We chose Spiderman,” says Fahad.

“Ever since Year 3 or 4, I’ve been sponsored through The Smith Family. The support meant we could buy things like my school uniform. It helped me fit in and feel like I was normal.

“For university, the sponsorship ramped up. You have to pay for travel, buy course packs, have good technology and all these things that cost a lot of money. The sponsorship made sure that I could meet those costs and worry less.

“I've wanted to do medicine for as long as I remember. But I got rejected three years in a row. I feel that my experience with hardship was really important in giving me discipline and resilience. I didn't give up. The fourth time got me in!

“Right now, medicine is something that's dominated by people from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. You're working with people where they're very vulnerable. I feel that as a doctor, I can use my disadvantaged background to intimately connect with people from a low socioeconomic community.

“I wouldn't be where I am without people like my sponsors supporting me. That really compels you to push through the hard times. I feel that I've been blessed with the opportunity to be able to study medicine.”