After father's death, this young girl sold newspapers to support family
While most eight- and nine-year-olds are blissfully unaware of the responsibilities that await them, at that age, Arina was already waking up at 5 am to distribute newspapers. Her routine involved going to the agency in the morning, collecting newspapers, distributing them door to door, and then heading off to school.
Hailing from Jaipur, Arina has seven sisters and two brothers. Her father used to distribute newspapers, and she used to playfully join him, pushing his cycle as he went from house to house. What she did not know was that with her father's demise, her small game would soon become an integral part of her life.
It has been 14 years since her father passed away, and she is still distributing newspapers. At the time, it was indeed difficult to manage her schooling along with the responsibility of helping her family financially. However, she was fully aware of the importance of education and worked hard to ensure she completed her schooling.
Her job frequently caused Arina to reach school late, as a result of which she was often scolded by her principal. Eventually, she was expelled from her school despite them being fully aware of her circumstances. She then went to Rahmani Model School, where they were accepting of her situation.
When she was in ninth standard, their financial situation worsened, and after school, she started working as a nurse at a hospital. For the next three years, she worked at Rama Hospital and Gangpol Hospital. It was she who took up the responsibility of ensuring her sisters’ and brothers’ education.
After completing her schooling, she took admission at a private college and started working full-time.
In 2010, high court judge Manish Bhandari honoured Arina with a bravery award on behalf of Sri Rajiv Arora Federation of Rajasthan Export. She received another honour, the ‘Ab Ke Baras Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo' award, from Kiran Bedi.
Arina is presently working for the Federation of Rajasthan Trade and Industry, a leading organisation of businessmen and industrialists of Rajasthan.
Read this in Hindi
Do you have an interesting story to share? Please write to us at [email protected]. To stay updated with more positive news, please connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
