Hazmat is an 18-year-old Asha student who resides in Peeragarhi slum, West Delhi. Hazmat’s Father is handicapped from his right hand since birth and does not hold a stable job, her mother works as a help in the hospital nearby. Her Father’s family belongs to a small village in the state of Bihar, where his parents were farmless farmers. After his marriage, Hazmat was the eldest child born. With no stable job and income, this family of 3 lived each day not knowing when or how they would eat their next meal.
In search of a better future, Hazmat’s family relocated to New Delhi with big hopes and dreams in their eyes. Soon, the family expanded as 3 more children were born in the family. With a large family, there were more mouths to feed and little income to survive on. Hazmat’s Mother started to work in a hospital nearby earning a bare minimum of Rs.3000 a month. The entire family became dependent on her salary to feed themselves.
During her childhood, Hazmat remembers there were continuous issues with rent payment, food scarcity and school fees payment. These had become common occurrences that happened regularly, as her family struggled financially. ‘When I think of my childhood, it brings tears to my eyes. My family has seen very dark days. There were days when the cooking stove was never lit in our house’ says a teary-eyed Hazmat.
Hazmat got associated with Asha when the Asha team at Peeragarhi slum were visiting door to door informing the class 10 and 12 students of the free assistance provided at the Asha centre. When she arrived at the Asha centre, the Asha family welcomed Hazmat with open arms. It was at Asha where she was encouraged and guided for her future and provided with free books, sample papers, mock exam preparations along with free tuitions by the Asha Ambassadors. ‘Getting associated with Asha was definitely the biggest turning point in my life. Overnight, I became a member of the Asha family and could confide with the Asha team about my personal struggles, hopes and dream’ says Hazmat.
Asha’s intervention and Hazmat’s hard work came to light when she scored an amazing score of 86.75% in her 12th board results. Hazmat’s family and the entire Asha family is so proud of her. Through Asha’s assistance, Hazmat has currently registered online for admission to the Delhi University. She wishes to pursue a BCA degree i.e. Bachelor of Computer Applications and aims to become the first software engineer from the slums of Peeragarhi. Asha will do everything possible to nurture the ambitions and dreams of such passionate and driven students from the Delhi slums.
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