When Fozia Shah was 12 years old, her mother was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
Zoora Shah had poisoned Mohammed Azam, with whom she was having an affair, with arsenic.
After her mother's conviction in 1993, Fozia and her siblings fled to Pakistan and did not return to Bradford until she was 14.
On her return she found she was bullied at school because of her mother and she ended up leaving early before taking her GCSE exams.
With no opportunity to enter employment or access education and training, Fozia did not believe she would ever be able to work, let alone plan a career.
However, the 21-year-old, of Buller Street, Sticker Lane, Bradford, is now reaching for the stars as she takes her place at a national awards ceremony alongside others who have overcome difficulties to make significant strides towards personal growth and learning achievements.
The event has been organised by Rathbone, a leading charity and voluntary organisation that helps young people with special educational needs realise their full potential.
Fozia applied for a Rathbone Millennium Award and £2,000 which helped her produce a video film challenging people's attitudes towards the disabled.
The ten-minute video, with which Fozia is pictured, has already been snapped up by a national training organisation and a copy is kept at St Luke's Hospital in Bradford to show to patients.
Fozia built on the success of the video and gave up more of her time to become a panel member assessing new Millennium Award applications and now works full-time as an assistant family-support worker at Sure Start in Barkerend.
"I didn't think the video would take off like this," she said. "I am amazed by its success. It has given me a lot of self-esteem and confidence."
Rathbone's Achiever of the Year Awards will be held on Wednesday in the Lancaster Suite at New Century House in Manchester.
The day will include guest speakers and the presentation itself. In the spirit of Rathbone's charitable missions, this year's theme is "Reaching for the Stars".
A highlight of the event will be a motivational speech from Daryl Lipsey, head coach of the Manchester Storm ice hockey team, on overcoming challenges and breaking down barriers to achieve goals.
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