The cheerful and confident Hifza was very disappointed when she realized she couldn’t go to school anymore, but a visit from the Miles2Smile foundation became her only hope.
Hifza is a cheerful girl and is always full of energy. She is the youngest of all five daughters in her family. But her cheerfulness was taken away in the wrecked aftermath of the North-East Delhi Pogrom.
Hifza and her family lived in the Shiv Vihar area of North-East Delhi. Her father, Mohammad Saleem, worked as a vegetable vendor, fulfilling the family’s bare necessities, and their conditions further deteriorated during the pandemic. There came a point where they would eat only once a day to save enough food for the next day.
During such times, her mother, Shabana, and her elder sister Rukaiyah had to shoulder the responsibility alongside her father. As a means of providing for the family, they took up sewing and embroidery work about a year ago.
In such upheavals, the family couldn’t provide the daughters with quality education. Owing to the pandemic, the schools too closed down, and Hifza was not sure if she would ever get the opportunity to attend a school ever again.
One day, one of our volunteers reported about her family’s circumstances. We asked our volunteer to go to her house and explain to her family that Hifza would be a student at “Sunrise Public School,” and that we would soon organize classes where many other students just like her will be joining, and all of them will have to wear masks since it was the middle of the pandemic.
The cheerful and confident Hifza was very disappointed when she realized she couldn’t go to school anymore, but a visit from the Miles2Smile foundation became her only hope.
She knows education is the only thing that can change her and her family’s circumstances. She dreams of becoming an English teacher.
“I like grammar, words, books and exams”.
Since enrolment, Hifza has left remarkable achievements in academics.
With interactive exercises, our staff has also tried to cheer up Hifza’s spirit and helped her fade the memories of her troubled past.
She also knows the art of sewing and loves to stitch clothes for her doll whenever she gets a break from her schoolwork. She says she learnt this art from her mother.
Besides academic excellence, Hifza also understands responsibilities and says, “Once I become a teacher, my parents won’t have to suffer more”.
She is desperate to support her family when she grows up. It may take time, but she hopes to do it amidst all odds. You can also help Hifza achieve her dream by joining the sponsorship program.
