I thank Miles2Smile for sponsoring our Education, for giving us Wings, and an Opportunity to Fly
Daughters are the light of every house. And if we empower them with education, they can become a shining source for the society.
Alisha, and her elder sister Parveen are two such daughters who are keenly devoted to their education as they see it as a way to fulfil their dreams and aspirations for their family.
Owing to difficult financial conditions and an apathetic approach towards education, the girls’ father, Wasikur Rehman, could only complete grade 10 and had to begin labouring at a young age. Naturally, he was not able to take up any job which required further education.
Parveen is the eldest daughter in the family and is currently enrolled in 11th grade. She has chosen the PCB (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) stream for her disciplines because botany has always sparked her interest. She wants to specialize in plant science and someday become a ‘plant scientist’.
In her board examinations, she scored 520/600. Parveen completed her High School Education at a private school. However, she herself used to pay for her schooling. Since she was in seventh grade, she tutored children from preschool to the fifth grade.
Her younger sister, Alisha, 8, also studies in the same school. She is in grade four and loves to play with her cats. “I like kitties. I like pets. I have two kitties. I have named them Blackpanther and Mickey”, says Alisha. She takes a great interest in EVS (Environmental Studies) and dreams of becoming a veterinary doctor when she grows up.
However, their family has been dealing with precarious financial situations for the last few months. It all began with the pandemic, followed by nationwide lockdown and changing patterns in the market; the firm where Wasikur Rehman worked incurred a hefty loss and ultimately got shut down, rendering him jobless.
Such an abrupt loss of a stable source of income left him mentally depressed. The constant thoughts of providing for the family and kids’ education kept hovering in his mind. He looked for many jobs over the next two years but couldn’t find work that paid enough to meet their daily needs. He is currently working at a company where he mainly does manual labour and earns a lesser income, making it extremely challenging to meet household expenses.
Unable to get the same salary as before, he could not afford the girls’ school fee. Their mother, Noor Bano, is a homemaker who has studied till 6th grade. The humble family of Praveen originally belongs to West Bengal and is presently living in Delhi.
Miles2Smile was able to connect with Parveen and Alisha through one of our field volunteers. “Parveen was a bit shy and reserved when we first met her. But she was keen to continue her studies. And we ensured her that she got the required support under our Shaagird programme.
We were delighted to support these two young minds. Both of them are excellent in their studies. We truly hope that these shining stars will achieve their dreams.
Children like Alisha & Parveen now have hope to continue with their education, thanks to the efforts of the Miles2Smile and the initiative SHAAGIRD that works towards preventing students from dropping out of school and inspire them to dream of a brighter future for themselves.
