Kerala hears UP woman's plea for help to keep her children in school
As we are very often reminded, India is a country of contradictions. On the one hand, Punjab announced free education for girls all the way to the PhD level. On the other hand, a mother was willing to donate her kidney to ensure that her children get an education.
A few weeks ago, Aarti Sharma, a UP resident, had put up a Facebook post claiming that her family of eight had been pushed into poverty following demonetisation, and that they were staying in a rented 330 sqft room in Rohta. In her post, she had said that she was willing to sell her kidney to finance her children's school fees. They hadn't been able to attend school since the start of the new academic session.
When even the district administration failed to help her, she allegedly sold her LPG cylinder to travel to Lucknow to meet Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Though she was assured she would receive help, no such thing happened even after a month. According to The Times of India, her husband Manoj Sharma said,
"It was Aarti's decision to put up her kidney for sale. I work as a taxi driver and earn only Rs 4,000–5,000 a month. Our landlord has warned us to either pay the rent or vacate. We just want the administration to help us get a loan so that we can start a small business and send our children to school."
Though her plea went unheeded by those nearby, 2,000 km away, James Mathew, an MLA in Kerala's Kannur district, decided to take action.
In 20 days' time, he collected Rs 2 lakh from schools in Taliparamba constituency to help Aarti’s children. Two teachers were selected to go all the way to go to Agra to give her the money, and those who contributed watched the entire event live on TV. According to The News Minute, one of the teachers who visited Aarti said,
“She was so happy and expressed her gratitude to Kerala when we handed over the money. They were in an extremely poor situation and she wanted to give education to her children. She has also expressed her willingness to come to Kerala for the education.”
The money was collected by placing charity boxes in schools. James has also promised to arrange for Aarti's children to go to boarding school in Kerala if the family is so willing.
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