The pen truly is mightier than the sword for King’s Academy junior Noor Sabha ’17, who is using her favorite pastime to help others and make a positive impact on the world.
Last year, Sabha – an avid writer of essays, fiction and poetry – decided to tackle an issue that many of her peers have struggled with and one she had personally experienced during her time at school: bullying.
“Everyone experiences some kind of harassment in their lifetime,” Sabha said. “It’s something we all go through and I felt like I needed to do something about it.”
Even though she claims she was lucky enough to “snap out of it,” Sabha still felt a responsibility to shed light on the harrowing subject and educate people on the consequences of harassing others.
“People don’t realize this kind of teasing can lead to forms of depression,” said Sabha, who aspires to become a clinical therapist and author. “Mental illness is very real and it needs to be taken seriously.”
Within five months, Sabha’s writing resulted in a short novel entitled Vulnerable. Written entirely in the confessional form, the book centers on the life of a female protagonist who confides in her diary through daily entries about her dark battle with bullies.
But Sabha’s mission didn’t end there. As a longtime supporter of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF), she got in touch with KHCF Director General HRH Princess Dina Mired and organized an intimate “book launch” in order to donate all of the proceeds from her book sales to cancer research.
Family, friends and even a few teachers from King’s showed their support at the event, which took place at Books@Cafe in Abdoun last spring and generated 1,000 JD in total.
Sabha is currently in talks with cancer survivors through KHCF and has a second book in the works through which she hopes to share their inspiring stories.
“My grandmother survived cancer, she was my initial inspiration,” she said. “These people are so strong and so grateful for everything, for every breath they take. The world needs to hear these stories . . . everyone matters.”