Born in war-torn Afghanistan, Waheed Arian's earliest memories are of bombs. Fleeing the conflict with his family as a young child, he spent three years in a Pakistani refugee camp, without possessions, basic sanitation or access to education. Living ten to a room, he contracted tuberculosis and malaria. It was this first-hand experience of the work of volunteer medics and the power of medicine that inspired Waheed to dedicate his life to helping others. But how does a boy with nothing hope to become a doctor?
Waheed taught himself by reading textbooks bought from street-sellers, and learned English by tuning in to the World Service. Aged fifteen he was smuggled to the UK with just $100 in his pocket, and found work in shops and restaurants. He was told he might make it as a taxi driver on day, if he was lucky. But the boy from Kabul had bigger ambitions.
Studying all hours, and overcoming PTSD and anxiety, he got to Cambridge, Imperial and then Harvard. He achieved his dream of becoming a doctor, working for the NHS. Then, to give back, he founded Teleheal, a pioneering global charity which uses smartphone technology to connect doctors in war zones and low resource countries with their counterparts in the US, UK and Europe. Together, learning from each other, they save and change lives - lives of people just like Waheed.
This is the extraordinary memoir of a boy who dreamed about helping others, a tale of courage, ambition and unwavering resilience, against all odds.
