Sujab wants to continue his study further and become an IT Engineer, but finance is holding him back.
By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net
Guwahati: There are hundreds others in this slum in Guwahati which was set up some 40 years back; but Sujab Ali was always different from the rest. Son of a rag picker, Sujab recently cleared the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) exam and became the first person from this slum called Hafiznagar in city’s Bamunimaidam area to achieve the feat.
“It feels great to be appreciated for what I have achieved. I would like to thank my mother for taking so much pain to help me continue with my studies,” an elated Sujab told TwoCircles.net at his hut where his mother runs a tea stall.
Sujab Ali with his mother Sukurbanu Begum at their hut that doubles as a tea stall at Hafiznagar slum cluster in Guwahati.
In the recently declared results, Sujab secured a decent 50 percent marks – but feat considering his condition – and has taken admission in city’s Kamrup Academy to continue his further study with the help of UTSAH (Universal Team for Social Action and Help) a NGO, working on child rights and protection in Assam.
He appeared for the class X board examinations from Bhaskar Bidyapeeth High School. Earlier he studied in Bamunimaidam Government Lower Primary School. It was sheer hard work and determination of Sujab that brought this laurel. He even worked as a help at construction sites and houses during the night hours.
Sujab Ali studying at his hut.
“I cannot go out to work during day hours. But often I go out for work at night. I earn around Rs 300 in a day which helps me to buy books and also give clothes for my siblings,” Sujab said. They have seven siblings and Sujab is the eldest.
Though he wanted to study science but his family can’t afford to do that. “I wish I could become a software engineer someday, that is my dream. But I don’t think it will be a reality,” he added.
His father, Chand Miya Ali said it has become difficult for him to run the family with the ever increasing price of essential commodities in the market. “Who does not want his son to excel and become a better person? But for us survival comes first than education. I also have to look after other siblings of Sujab. If somebody helps my son, I do believe that he will achieve something big,” Ali told TCN.
His mother Sukurbanu Begum attends to her small tea stall to cater the needs of the neighbourhood which fetches her a little amount of money daily. She has been the real energy to motivate Sujab to continue his study. In her mother’s words, “As he has shown interests in studies, I want him to continue it. I’m ready to take all kind of pains to see him realizing his dreams. We have had a very tough life here. We hardly could even dream of studying.”
Sujab now wants to influence his neighbours and other children in the slum to study and bring a change.
Hafiznagar slum cluster in Guwahati’s Bamunimaidam area
Rahima Begum, a resident of the slum who has been providing education to the students, said that the children have to face adverse situation due to poverty. “The people here are poor and their first struggle is for very survival. So, it is extremely difficult for them to even think of education,” she told TCN, adding, “In such circumstances, what Sujab has done is really praiseworthy. All the dwellers here are happy and proud of the boy. We pray for his success,” said Rahima.
He has also been able to grab the attention of others outside the slum.
“Sujab stands as an inspiration to all those many children living in the slum areas of Guwahati city who have to live amidst so much difficulty and yet have the fire to come out victorious in their fight of life,” said Miguel Das Queah, founder chairman of UTSAH and a child rights activist.
TCN readers wanting to help Sujab can contact at +91 9864025070