At the age of seven, Ahmed Hakim was run over by a tram which led to both his arms and his right leg being amputated. Yet, that did not stop him from chasing his dreams. He sought a rehabilitation institution to learn any craft so that he may make a living, but he was immediately rejected. “Your hands and leg…Three missing limbs means you can’t make it here!” they told Hakim. Still, he insisted again and again until they allowed him to join. While at the rehabilitation institution, he was inspired to become a painter after watching another young man with missing limbs painting. “He used to press his arms together to hold a pen and draw,” explains Hakim. “I used to contemplate his drawings and wished to learn and become a painter like him. And I became one.” After leaving the institution at the age of 15, Hakim decided to approach calligraphers in Alexandria in order to learn more about calligraphy. “I was overjoyed,” says Hakim, who worked as a calligrapher from the age of 15 to 20, writing banners and signs for stores, mosques and more. When he turned 20,…
