Tales from the Island of Serendip 4 4

[Flex Mentallo]

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[jhutton2]

This thread always gives my spirit a lift, thank you for posting!

[Flex Mentallo]

On 11/10/2017 at 12:42 PM, jhutton2 said:

This thread always gives my spirit a lift, thank you for posting!

Thanks for the kind words, Jason. More scholars' bios tomorrow.

Edited November 11, 2017 by Flex Mentallo

[Flex Mentallo]

Arshi Khatoon
Arshi is a 15 year old girl studying in class 10. The name of her father is Sk. Rashi. He is a Van puller and earns monthly INR 3000/-. Arshi’s mother, Musrrat Begum is a house wife. She does envelope making at home and earns INR 1000/-. She has 5 daughters and one 3 year old son. They all are living in a tiny house at Razabajar slum area. Arshi’s mother got married at the age of fifteen and she had a dream to study further. Now she wants to make her dream come true through her daughters but financial constraint is the main problem. Arshi’s father also wants to make his daughters educated but he is helpless and can’t maintain so large family only by van pulling. Sometimes her maternal uncle also helps financially but it is not regular.

 

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Her parents are under continuous pressure of giving marriage of her five daughters. The dowry is a deep rooted problem of Indian society. Here the amount of dowry increases along with the age of the bride. It is a social disease and killing so many brides and their family each year. Child marriage is directly related to this issue and no law can prevent this due to lack of proper awareness. They are suffering from this dowry problem too. The age of Arshi and her elder sister Neha (16 years old) is quite young now, so fewer dowries will be needed to give them marriage. This is the reason why her family wants her and also her elder sister to get married now. Arshi is not at all convinced about marrying at this age. She wants to continue her study. She has cried like she is losing her life. After all she is a 15 year old girl and in her age how can she take responsibility of another family.

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The team members of Roshni Youth Group visited Arshi’s family and convinced them not to give them marry at so young age. Roshni Group discussed the negative side of getting her married at so young age. The root of this problem is far deeper. After getting married very soon she has to bear children and eventually end of her dream. She will continue to live her mother’s life and nothing will change. After talking to Roshnians her parents are convinced but she needs some financial support to continue her education further.

A scholarship of her own will give her a strong support to continue her education and can stop her getting married at so young age. Her wings are weak but her eyes are strong so she is dreaming very strongly to fly high.

Very soon her brother will start his school then to meet up her brother’s educational expenses may be she has to quit her education. Here the male children are pampered more and they get more priority in everything from education to nutrition. Again if they find a good groom for her they will try to overcome the situation by giving her marriage.

Arshi wants to study high and become self-dependent. She wants to become a helping hand of her father. She is the hope of her family. She wants to achieve something from life then she will take responsibility of another family.

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14th November is Children's day in India, and it is hard to believe that a year has gone by since I was celebrating  this day with Roshni in Kolkata. This year Roshni gave some small gifts to needy children, and the photos are full of fun.

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Fresh kids or what?

[comicjack]

The front boy has that look we all had at that age .Trouble !

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Nikkhat Parveen

Her father’s name is Md. Wakil and he is a van puller by profession. He earns a mere living to feed his two daughters and himself. He had no savings in bank, not enough cash to continue the treatment of his elder daughter (affected with polio and tuberculosis). He earns INR. 3500/- to 4000/- per month which is very poor in Indian standard. From this, Wakil has to pay the rent for the one room (10ft by 12 ft) they live in, electricity bill, Nikkhat’s education and buy medicines for her elder sister regularly. It is quite evident that his family is below the poverty line but due to unavailability of government support,they are literally living hand to mouth. Wakil has no other skill to earn more and he is the only bread winner for his family.

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Nikkhat’s mother had a heart disease when she was very young. Due to the dearth of money she was deprived of necessary treatment and as a result of which she died at an early age. Nikkhat has an elder sister, Zeenat,  who is affected by Polio and now suffering from Tuberculosis as well. As a result,from a very young age, she is taking care of her family. She does all the household chores (from water collection from the local taps to washing clothes to cooking and shopping) and takes care of her sister. She has to cook in the same room where three of them live. They have a common toilet which is also used by 15 other families. However, in spite of all these difficulties,she urges to continue her study (studying in 5th standard in a local public school) and dreams to stand on her own one day so that she can provide her family a better living. She is a brave young child fighting everyday with the odds of her conservative community (Rajabajar slum) and her family. She continues her hard work of supporting the family though not giving upon her zeal to study. Moreover, she never blames her fate or anyone else for this. This very feeling of hers makes her a brave fighter which will take her very far if she is given a chance or supported.

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Nikkhat’s Dream: She wants to have an improved life where she can make her family happy. She knows education would lead her to this goal.

Threat to the family: If any mishap happens to Wakil, Nikkhat and her elder sister would have no one else to their support. There is even a potential life threat to Nikkhat’s sister who is in a serious medical condition.

Need: Therefore, the present scenario necessitates an immediate support for Nikkhat’s education and for her sister’s TB treatment. A little support may save a life and will offer her a chance to nurture her dreams which she has been keeping in her innocent and hopeful eyes.

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Mehjabeen Naz is one of the Roshni volunteers. She is 19 years of age, and I know her by her 'chota nam' (knickname) as Dinky.

 

Dinky recently attended a storytelling workshop run by the Thoughtshop Foundation. She got to make a short film. which has now been accepted for inclusion in the Ankur Film Festival.

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Dinky was invited to attend the festival, which is taking place in Nasik, which is almost 2000 km away, in Maharashtra. Travel was arranged, so Dinky got to fly in an airplane for the first time in her young life. For a young woman growing up in the confines of traditional Rajabazaar, I can scarcely think of anything more liberating.