Rasna Mardi is a 25 years old girl who has not only achieved her dreams but is also helping many other children to achieve heights in their careers.
She is the daughter of Mr. Lakhan Mardi and Mrs. Chandmuni Mardi who are disabled due to Leprosy since birth. She is residing with her parents in the Birsa Leprosy colony, Gaurkhunti, District, Dhanbad, Jharkhand. Begging is the only source of income for the livelihood of the family . In 2011, She was studying in class 12th, when her education got discontinued due to various problems including financial problems. Rasna stated that “inhone mujhe KG se matric tak bahut hi kashton se padai karvayi hai aur uske baad ghar ki kharab isthiti k karan padai rok di lekin mera bahut man tha” (My parents taught me from Nursery KG class to 12th Class with extreme hitches & troubles, but later on due to worse situations, I had to stop my further education although I wish hard to opt for higher studies.)
Fortunately, in the same year 2011, NLR Foundation started its program related to education support in that colony. Rasna got the opportunity to prove her skills and she pinned it suitably.
She got admission in BA History (Hons.) with NLRF support by paying a college fee. She is sincere in her studies and scored pretty well in graduation. She completed it in year 2013 with 70 % marks. Then after she started teaching in one of the nearby schools to her colony in denobli, dhanbad. Her salary was Rs. 4000/- through which she supported her parents.
Unfortunately, her mother died one year ago in 2015. It was shocking for her. There are no siblings hence only 2 persons, she & her father are left in the family. There are no relatives to support them morally even at this time due to discriminatory issues.
She didn’t lose hope. She believed in her abilities and went out of the colony for better future. She appeared for interviews in different schools and as a result of her hard work, now she is a History teacher in a reputable school- Sarswati Vidya Mandir,Ratanpur Gadi Tundi,Dhandad and She is being paid Rs 9000/- Per month salary in addition to facilities of PF , accommodation & Food. So now she stays in the town of dhanbad instead of staying in Leprosy colony which is 40 km far away. She cares for his father a lot, so she goes to meet him weekly for two days i.e. every Saturday & Sunday and takes care of his health. She makes sure that he follows self care practice regularly which he learnt in the self-care training camps organized by NLRF in the colony.
She says that “bacho ko pada kar mujhe bahut santushti milti hai” which means that “I feel a great sense of satisfaction when I teach children”. So as to flourish in her career, she had opted for B.P.Ed (Bachelor of Physical Education) Distance education from St. Lahugee Collage Chandur, Nagpur (MP), this year. She is studying this course along with her Job. She will go for marriage once she completes the studies.
She is happy today, fulfilling up her dreams and thanked NLR Foundation for right support at the right time.
– Rashna Mardi