Aanyah Abdullah

Aanyah Abdullah is a creative and compassionate 11-year-old, who is drawn to children born with physical and mental disabilities. When she was in second grade, Aanyah along with her mother, award winning author Shaila Abdullah, started volunteering out at a local community center where they helped assist special needs children. Later Aanyah wrote an essay about her friendship with a girl in the class who had cerebral palsy. That essay is the inspiration behind My Friend Suhana. Aanyah dreams of establishing a special school for children with disabilities one day. She is known to always stand up for what is right and is-–in her parents’ and teachers’ eyes––a perfect role model for her baby sister.