Saima Ashraf, a Single Ammi Of Two, A Co-ordinator, And Above All, A SURVIVOR!

ScaryAmmi worked very hard to find this inspirational AMMI who is nothing but an inspiration and hope for every struggling ammi out there. Saima Ashraf is an ammi to two, a boy who is 21 and currently studying at Lahore School of Economics and an 18 years old girl who is currently doing her A’ levels. She holds an MBA degree from a renowned university of Karachi but she completed her studies after her marriage. “I decided to work back then when my son was going to Montessori and my daughter was 2.5 years old and I realized that I should be working. And I am working in the same institution from the last 16 years” said Saima.

Her father got her married to his friend’s son but when things did not work out he felt guilty. “When the marriage broke, off I began to live with my dad because my mother was no more with us.” She also talked about the hardships she suffered as being a sole provider for the whole family. “Yes, things were a little difficult at the beginning as I had to manage my job along with my kids. I was living with my father so there was a lot of house workload on me”.

“My father has always been very kind and supportive and never made me feel that ammi is not with us,” said Saima. Her daughter studies in the same school where she works, so they both have to wait for each other to get so that they can come home together.
“From day one I knew that I should be living separately and so my father got me this house and we began to live here. But I had no idea what fate had planned for me. My father couldn’t make it, he left us after a couple of months of shifting here.” said Saima and she broke into tears. “After my father died, I realized how hard it is for a single woman to live in this world.”

Her story is full of motivation for every single parent, whether it’s a father or a mother. Saima has something very motivational to share with you. She is not just a hardworking Ammi but also a fighter. She has been fighting Cancer from the last 2 years till now. Her belief in Almighty has kept her going till now.

Saima Ashraf was diagnosed with Lung cancer back in 2018 and unfortunately, it was the last stage of cancer. She started fighting and she is still fighting. The smile on her face is a sign of hope of living many more years with her kids. She is the only provider, after Allah for her kids. She talked about the times when she used to clean her car herself on the weekends, went for groceries, cleaned her house and worked out daily to maintain her health. She said the only happy time she could remember from her past was when she was unmarried. Her ex-husband is alive but barely meets his children.

“It’s not that my life has always been so depressive. There were times when I was happy, used to meet friends every weekend, but with the passage of time I learnt to be enough for myself and kids.” Said Saima Ashraf.

“I miss being healthy and active, but now that I am functioning very slowly and still have to fight cancer, it becomes hard for me to manage things at times. My son grew up in all this time. When I was admitted to the hospital, he learnt to drive and take care of his sister. My friends and family have been very supportive. I used to live with my brother when I was going through cancer surgery and they never made me feel like a burden. My friends have always made it easier for me to manage things. I can’t thank Almighty enough for such supportive people in my life,” she explained.

“I still have a long way to go. I want to see my kids prosper and settled down in their own lives. I just hope that Allah taa’la gives me enough time to witness all these beautiful moments of my life,” she ended with a hopeful look on her face.