Yar Khan was born in Hyderabad, India to an Indian father and English mother, and was raised in Canada.[3]
Her interest in humanitarianism began while watching a telethon to raise money for children in Africa, when she was six years old.[4]
Education and career
Yar Khan studied at the University of Guelph, earning a B.A. in international development, before attending Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Italy.[5] After graduating college, earning her master's in public policy, she travelled in 2001 with the United Nations World Food Programme to Ecuador to begin her career as a humanitarian.[1][4][6] For 15 years she worked in different humanitarian roles in 10 different countries, including work as a fundraising officer and child protection specialist for UNICEF.[4]
In 2007, at age 30, Yar Khan was diagnosed with the rare muscle-wasting disease hereditary inclusion body myopathy. While at first she hid her diagnosis, fearing people would begin to doubt her capabilities, she began to open up as the disease progressed.[1] She was advised to quit her career to go home and move in with her parents upon her diagnosis, but instead continued working, travelling to Angola with UNICEF.[4] The next year, when Yar Khan travelled to China as member of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake emergency response, she needed the use of a leg brace. Two years later, in 2010, she used two canes and two leg braces on a humanitarian trip to Haiti in response to the earthquake.[4]
In 2019, she gave a TED Talk discussing the importance of courage and fear coexisting together.[7]
Achievements and awards
Yar Khan began horseback riding in 2014, and was recognized as the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International's 2015 Adult Equestrian of the Year.[8] To demonstrate two common themes from her public speaking career, courage and fear, Yar Khan embarked on a 12-day trip at the Grand Canyon, including four days spent descending the area on horseback and another eight days white water rafting in the Colorado River.[9][7]
Atlanta magazine named Yar Khan as one of their Women Making A Mark, in 2018.[1] That same year, she was honored with an Outstanding Voice Award from the Atlanta Business Chronicle for advancing equality in the business community in Atlanta.[10]
As of July 2022, a documentary about Yar Khan, called Her Inescapable Brave Mission, created with filmmaker Sam Pollard and executive producer Brenda Robinson, was in the works.[6]
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