Zubaida was in the ninth year of her life. She was one of eight children and two parents that made up her nomadic family. Together, they traveled from place to place. She and the rest of her family are originally from the region of Farah in Afghanistan. During the month of August in 2001, Zubaida was heating up an inside home cooking burner with kerosene as she poured it in. The gasoline caught fire, and she quickly caught on fire as a result. Her face, neck, chest, and arms were all badly burned in the incident. Her father transported her to a neighboring medical provider as soon as the blaze was put out, and there, she was treated with several ointments. As the severity of her health continued to increase, her father made the decision to take her to Iran for medical care. She was hospitalized to a hospital in Iran for a period of twenty days, after which she was released from the facility. The physicians there advised her father to bring her back home so that she might pass away there. Although Zubaida did not pass away as a consequence of her injuries, she was left with a horrific deformity, major functional disability, and a severely damaged sense of self-esteem.
Muhammad, Zubaida’s father, reached out to the United States government in February 2002 for assistance for his daughter, who had suffered serious burns. This was on the advice of local merchants. She was transported to the military installation of the United States Army in Kabul. There, Zubaida met with American military physicians, and after discussing the situation, they decided to get in touch with the United States State Department to find out what options they had.
Dr. Peter Grossman, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at The Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks, California, was approached by the State Department. Zubaida was sent to the United States in order to get treatment at The Grossman Burn Center. This was made possible thanks to the Children’s Burn Foundation, a humanitarian organization headquartered in Southern California that provides financial and social support to burn-injured children who do not have any other method of obtaining assistance.
Within a very short amount of time, Zubaida underwent a remarkable metamorphosis after undergoing twelve major surgeries spread out over the course of a single year. She attended Round Meadow Elementary School in Calabasas, California, for the very first time in her life, and in the span of one academic year, she picked up the English language fluently. In addition to going to psychotherapy and physical treatment, she also made many excellent connections with her classmates while she was in school.
On her 11th birthday, which was on March 22nd, 2003, she attended her very first sleepover. Zubaida has said that one of her future goals is to become a pediatric doctor so that she may assist in the reconstruction of her nation.
Nearly everyone who had any kind of interaction with her was drawn to her, moved by compassion for the misfortune she had through, admiration for the bravery she shown, and joy at the metamorphosis she had undergone. There have been so many individuals who have banded together to assist a single little girl and to give her back something that she was nearly deprived of: her childhood. When you meet Zubaida, you will see that she will always have scars, but you will also notice how gorgeous and energetic she is. This tale of one small girl’s indomitable spirit and iron will, as well as the generosity of humanity, is really amazing. It details how she triumphed through tragedy despite the odds.
Zubaida was only recently reunited with her family in Afghanistan, and due to the fact that her family is incredibly impoverished, she will need help in the form of financial assistance, as well as support for her future schooling and medical requirements.