MALKANGIRI: Not letting disability stand in the way of her education, 16-year-old Laxmi Khemudu arrived at the PM SHRI Government Girls High school in Malkangiri’s Satiguda on Thursday and wrote the first paper of the High School Certificate (HSC) examination with her feet, showcasing extraordinary resilience and determination.
Born with a locomotor disability, both the hands of Laxmi are non-functional. Besides, she cannot walk or sit without support. Yet, driven by an unshakable desire to study, she has trained herself to hold a pen between her toes and write.
Her journey to the examination hall has been filled with hardship. A resident of Bandhiguda village under Sindhrimal panchayat in Malkangiri district, Laxmi hails from a poor family and depends entirely on her parents for daily activities. Her father works as a daily wage labourer while her mother is a homemaker.
Despite financial constraints, the parents never allowed her education to suffer. Every day, they arrange transport - be it an auto-rickshaw or a borrowed motorcycle - to take her to her school in Sindhrimal, nearly six km from their house.
The school authorities, too, extended strong support to Laxmi. They ensured that she received equal opportunities like other students and was never made to feel different because of her disability.
Ahead of the HSC examination, the school even offered to seek permission from the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha for a scribe to write on her behalf. However, the self-respecting teenager declined the offer and firmly stated that she would write the examination herself using her feet - a decision that has left teachers, classmates and villagers deeply moved.
Laxmi dreams of becoming a teacher one day and building her own identity. The school authorities have assured that they will continue to extend all possible support if she wishes to pursue further education.
Local academicians urged the state government to extend all assistance to Laxmi and her family to ensure that she continues her higher studies after clearing the ongoing HSC Examination without any difficulty.