CHENNAI: From the streets, these three girls, who were taken under the wings of Karunalaya, a city-based NGO, have fought all odds to chase bigger dreams. S Reshma, S Rajeswari and P Indhu, who were provided educational help by Karunalaya, have shone in class X board exam.
Reshma (15), who secured 400 marks out of 500, says, “I want to become an IAS officer. It’s my mother’s dream. She wanted to continue her schooling and become an IAS officer or doctor. But her parents got her married off.” Reshma studied in the Chennai Corporation School in New Washermenpet.
Rajeswari (15), who secured 391 marks, aspires to become a doctor or a teacher. “I want to do service to the needy people by doing medicine. Father S Suresh works as a load man in Mint. I want to become a teacher because I would like to educate and spread knowledge to underprivileged children like me,” says the girl who studied in the Chennai Corporation School at Old Washermenpet. Indhu (15) aspires to become a doctor. “I want to become a doctor and provide all medical facilities to the poor and needy.”
Rajeswari and Indhu recall their nightmares studying under street-lights on Barracks Road as young girls. “We used to sit on the street and attend to tuition classes taken by volunteers from Karunalaya. But, most of the time, there used to be street fights; not only that, drug addicts also sit near us and smoke or booze,” says Indhu, who secured 348 marks in the board exam and studied at St Annes Girls Higher Secondary School in Broadway.
“After seeing our flight in the street, Police Boys Club gave us a shelter to study,” says Indhu.
Meanwhile, K Thamizharasi secured 265 marks, R Eswari 192 and E Santhosh, a runaway child, 187 marks. Thamizharasi and Eswari were also part of the Street Child World Cup, 2018.