Arvind Raja

"When I was 7 years old my father abandoned us and that time I was very sad and in spite of telling him to come back he didn’t come back... He married again. Myself and my mummy were upset. We cooked in house after 15 days. From there my mummy is doing domestic work and feeding me. My mom can’t send me to school as she also have health problem and not earn to meet our bread & butter. I was also about to stop school and go to work to help my mom. At that time, HELP Evening school madam & sir came to my house and convinced us and told the important of going to school and how I can become if I get basic education. They are helping me now and I am going to school and getting 1st rank in the school. My tuition teacher in the Evening school is helping me a lot to score this much mark. I want to become a doctor and help my village people."

A LITTLE 'HELP' GOES A LONG WAY
Story by Maimuna Gaye from [[Nabuur].]

"For 10 year old Arvind Raja, the dream of becoming a doctor one day and helping people in his village doesn’t seem so far-fetched after all. With the education and knowledge that Arvind is getting from the HELP Evening school program, life as an ‘MD’ is now as real as being able to pluck a ripe fruit from a tree in his back yard.

When Arvind turned 7 years old, his father abandoned him and his mother for search of ‘greener pastures’. He remarried and went on to live his life without Arvind and his mother. Abandonment is a difficult enough issue for any person to deal with, but for a little boy like Arvind it left a deep emotional scar. He and his mother tried to deal with the abandonment and shame the best way they knew how; they shied away from the public eye and stayed at home for fifteen whole days. They begged Arvind’s father to come back to their family, but he refused.

Left without a breadwinner, Arvind’s mother now assuming the role of both ‘mummy and daddy’ had to also become the sole breadwinner for her family. She earned the little income she could by doing domestic work in the village to feed herself and Arvind. To make matters worst, Arvind’s mom has severe health problems which kept her from being able to work and make enough money to send Arvind to school or provide food for the family. Their financial situation had gotten so bad that Arvind and his mother had decided it would be best for Arvind to drop out of school and work to help the family survive. Then a miracle happened, HELP Evening school representatives visited Arvind’s home and talked to him and his mom about the importance of going to school and the endless possibilities available when one gets an education. Lucky for Arvind, he and his mother believed the words of the HELP representatives. Today, Arvind is in school and getting all the help he needs! He achieved 1st rank in his class and is very proud of himself and so is his mother. His teacher’s at Evening school have helped him a lot and he is now getting good grades in class and works hard to maintain his grades. Arvind now sees the road to becoming a doctor paved more smoothly with a lot less hurdles than before."