POWERFUL MESSAGE: Aroob Haroon, 15, is presented with her award by the Lord Mayor and together with father Haroon Rashid at Sheffield Youth Awards
A Sheffield teenager has become a powerful voice for children with disabilities across Yorkshire after winning a major honour at this year’s Sheffield Youth Awards.
Aroob Haroon, 15, took home the Helping Others Award recently and was also named runner-up in the Culture and Heritage category.
For any young person the achievement would be remarkable – but for Aroob, who uses a wheelchair and has spent much of her childhood in hospital, it marks an extraordinary triumph over adversity.
Aroob lives with a rare genetic condition thought to affect fewer than 20 children in the UK.
Her early years have been filled with ICU admissions, major surgeries, emergency hospital stays, complex daily care routines and persistent pain.
While many children spend their childhoods running through playgrounds, Aroob has spent hers navigating hospital corridors.
Yet friends and family say she remains the girl who smiles, inspires others, and refuses to let her wheelchair limit her hopes for the future.
In 2023, Aroob (pictured above), lost her younger brother Muhammad Ayaan Haroon, known as Ayaan, who was just five-year-old when he died at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, with the family highlighting serious failings in his care in the media.
For Aroob, the tragedy was deeply personal. She witnessed her brother’s declining health and the heartbreak that followed.
That experience, her family says, pushed her to ensure other children are seen, heard and protected.
Turning heartbreak into hope
Over the past year, Aroob has dedicated herself to advocacy and community work. Her achievements include:
- Raising thousands of pounds for Sheffield Children’s Hospital, leading their first ever Ramadan fundraising campaign
- Increasing awareness of Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice within local Muslim communities
- Inspiring professional athletes, MPs, mayors and community leaders through her story
- Receiving VIP invitations from some of the UK’s biggest sports clubs
- Becoming a visible role model for disabled children across the region
At the awards ceremony, Aroob used her moment on stage to highlight a powerful point: “Why are there only two children in wheelchairs here today?”
Out of more than 100 young people being celebrated, only two were visibly disabled.
Her question struck at the heart of ongoing concerns around representation and accessibility.
A message for Yorkshire
In the coming weeks, Aroob will visit Parliament to speak about issues facing disabled children, including:
- Representation in public life
- Barriers in education and community spaces
- Accessibility and equality
- The need for compassionate policy
Her message is simple: Children with disabilities deserve visibility, dignity and the certainty that they belong.
A father’s pride
Aroob’s dad Haroon Rashid says he has watched his daughter endure extreme physical pain and overwhelming grief, yet continue to rise with determination.
“Everything she does now – every award, every visit, every message – is done in memory of her little brother Ayaan,” he said.
The family hopes sharing Aroob’s journey will inspire other young people living with disability, illness or loss.”
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire