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Hong Kong student with cerebral palsy draws on her determined character to sketch out calligraphy dream

  • Ali Faria Hussain, 18, refuses to let condition stand in the way of her passion
  • She also publicly challenges discrimination, gently explaining to one impatient shopper why she was being slow at checkout

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Ali Faria Hussain, who was diagnosed with right hemiplegic cerebral palsy aged nine months, hopes to make waves in the world of calligraphy. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Clutching a brush with four fingers and wearing a smile across her face, student Ali Faria Hussain calmly and elegantly scribes four Chinese calligraphy characters – no small feat for someone with cerebral palsy.

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The Form Six student from Hong Kong Red Cross Margaret Trench School, for pupils with physical disabilities, has written out the Chinese idiom meaning “being good and seeking improvement”.

Hong Kong-born and raised, Hussain, 18, speaks fluent Cantonese. She comes from a Pakistani family. Her father runs a Pakistani restaurant in Sham Shui Po, while her mother takes care of Hussain and three other children at home.

Ali Faria Hussain with some of her calligraphy, one of her main passions in life. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Ali Faria Hussain with some of her calligraphy, one of her main passions in life. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hussain was nine months old when she was diagnosed with right hemiplegic cerebral palsy – a condition which leaves the right side of her body in a state of general weakness – after her parents noticed she could not sit still.

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Because of her conditions, Hussain has difficulties performing daily tasks and sometimes faces discrimination, but she remains positive.

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