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Muskaan
Muskaan, a seven year dumb and deaf girl student of Karkar School in Ghaziabad, has been attending the Academy from the past one year.
The girl lives in a small two room house along with her father (a labourer in a company), mother (home-maker) two younger brothers and a younger sister. Their family migrated from Hardoi to Ghaziabad, around four years back, in light of diminishing money and joblessness. After coming here, even though her father found a job, the income can hardly provide for all the household expenditure.
Muskaan, an otherwise challenged girl, is a relatively bright kid, with exceptional grasping power and a heart of gold. Her mother says that Muskaan makes it a point to bring a part of the mid-day meal served at the school for her younger brother, who is too young to attend school. Her teachers praise her for the punctuality and responsibility that she possesses, which is rarely seen in children of her age. She takes good care of her two siblings, also attending the same school as well as her classmates. She diligently completes all her homework and is a child with a great desire to study more and more. Her teacher says that Muskaan joined the Academy a year back and has shown amazing progress since then. Being admitted in the 1st class, she has moved up the ladder to class 2nd, by learning through the ten step book at a quick pace.
A motivating mother
On speaking to Muskaan’s mother Mayazbeen, it seems that she is quite happy with the learning and development of her children. Mayazbeen says that she herself is illiterate but has determined to change the fate of her children, and that is why she sends them to the school. With lack of money, they can hardly afford to pay for the school fees, children’s health, uniforms, etc. However, at the Karkar centre of AWC Ghaziabad, everything is taken care of well. She feels good to see her children getting ready for school willingly, unlike the other children in the neighbourhood, who start whining on the mere mention of school.
Mayazbeen further adds that she always makes it a point to attend all the activities organised by the school for the parents, be it the parent-teacher meetings, the cultural programmes or the community events. She also comes down for the health camp at times, if any of her kids is suffering through some medical condition. According to Mayazbeen, the staff at the Karkar School has helped the community members connect better with each other. The staff collectively guides all the parents about maintaining cleanliness in the area, which has been a pertinent issue in the locality. The people initially used to neglect the advice, but with time, the condition is improving, however, there is still a long way to go on the hygiene front. At last, she shares that she is happy that her children are connected with the Academy and are treading the path towards progress.