In India, children living in slums often face negative assumptions about their future. People believe they won’t do well in school or in life because of their background. Living in cramped and poor conditions can make studying difficult, and many have to work to support their families. But just because they come from a slum doesn’t mean they can’t succeed. With support and opportunities, these children can defy expectations.
This is exactly what happened in the narrow lanes of Harinagar slum and Chungi Parade area of Uttar Pradesh. A total of 8 slum kids, 3 girls and 5 boys, performed exceptionally well in the UP board exams. All these kids have worked as ragpickers and waiters at restaurants to arrange for their meals. Today, they have secured first division in their exams, reported TOI.
Ritik, Amit, Deepak, and Nazo scored 80%, 78%, 74% and 72%, respectively. Ritik’s father is a vegetable seller while Amit and Deepak’s fathers work as daily wage labourers. On the other hand, Nazo’s father drives an autorickshaw. These kids have very ambitious dreams – Ritik wants to become an engineer, Amit and Deepak want to become doctors and Nazo wants to work in the corporate sector. There is a boy named Shani who scored 70% in total but performed brilliantly at maths, scoring 96 out of 100. He wants to study mathematics at one of the top institutes in India.
Among the girls, Khushboo has scored 85%. Her father is a rickshaw puller and one of her biggest dreams is to work in a bank and make her parents proud. Komal, who once worked as a ragpicker alongside her parents, scored 70% and wants to become an IPS officer in the future.
Despite living in a single-room house along with their parents and siblings, these kids managed to study and perform well in their exams. They now want to give a better life to their families.
“About eight years back, I managed to get these kids admitted in different schools and took responsibility of their education. Teachers associated with the organisation took classes daily ranging from six to eight hours and the hard work finally yielded the desired results when these students excelled in UP Board exams,” said Abhishek Shukla, the founder of Shuruaat Ek Jyoti Shiksha Ki – an organization that helps kids living in the slums to pursue an education.
These kids have dreams and abilities just like any other child, and they deserve a chance to create a better life for themselves.