Powerless But Not Helpless, Street Kids Shine In Exams

New Delhi: Despite braving odds, Anju, a 12-year-old girl living in the narrow lanes of Anand Vihar basti, scored the first position in her class of 61 children this year. She stays in a single-room rented shanty with six siblings and her parents, who keep asking her to quit studies.

- Pankhuri.Yadav

“My father beats me up and asks me to work as a full-time household help with my mother, but I refuse to listen to him. I don’t want to live a life in shanties. Everything is tough here. My mother supports me sometimes, but there’s not much she can do to convince my father. I had never scored the first rank, but when I got my report card this time, my father was the first person I showed it to. For the first time, he smiled looking at my grades and said that I should keep it up. That made me very happy,” said Anju.

Recalling how the last year was especially tough for her, the 12-year-old girl said, “Earlier, I used to go to school, so things were not as hard till the lockdown was announced. My father lost his job and stayed at home for six months. While he was at home, he wouldn’t let me open any books. This made me lag behind in my studies. I didn’t even have a phone to attend online classes.”