Eighteen-year-old Fazia lives in a 60/70 sqft room along with her mother, three sisters and brother in Seelampur's JJ cluster. Her day begins by performing daily household chores which are followed by stitching that she does to support herself and her family and ends with a dream to become a teacher.
However, amid all the adversities and hardships of life in the extremely narrow alleys of Seelampur, a bright spot emerges as the 18-year-old came out with flying colours in the recently concluded Class 12 CBSE board examinations, in which she scored 96 per cent.
Fazia told , "I was very nervous when I got promoted to class 12. I had no teacher, no tuitions for support. Those days, it was full of hardships as I had to manage both my family and studies together. Moreover, I live in a slum which fails to provide a proper atmosphere to study, it's noisy always, and hence I could study only at nights."
The finances posed a major obstacle in growth, however, an NGO's intervention in such difficult times does help people nourish their dreams. One such Asha Society came forward and provided Fazia with sample question papers, conducted mock tests and most importantly, provided an environment to study.
Fazia's mother Sakina, a cancer survivor told, "I am very happy for her. She has made me proud. Given the conditions we live in, her result is our source of light. Her late father and I always wanted our children to study. Her brother works as a daily labourer to support the family, Fazia too works a lot. I wish god fulfils her dream."
She charges Rs 120 to stitch a salwar suit and thus earns anything ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500.
Her wish to visit places drew her interest in geography and she aspires to become a Geography teacher one day.
"Geography helps us know about the places, the topography, and the environment. It educates us minutely about the places that we have never visited," she said.
Fazia who never visited any place outside Northwest Delhi secretly desires to visit places in India, and Sikkim in particular.
( With inputs from ANI )