One cannot help feeling inspired by the moving story of young and petite Ummul Khair who through her sheer hard work and determination was able to pull herself out of a wretched life in the slums. She went on to appear in the UPSC exams and cleared it in the first attempt.

Ummul Khair is an extraordinary 29-year-old woman whose life began in a slum in Delhi. It was a filthy, stinking shantytown with a drain passing through it. Ummul’s father owned a tea shop but the income was not sufficient and the family struggled to make a living. If that was not enough, they suffered another blow when the shantytown was demolished in the name of development, rendering them all homeless.

The only way out of the misery was to return to their hometown Pali in Rajasthan. However, Ummul, a bright student was determined to continue her studies in the government school in Delhi and refused to go with her parents. The class VIII student stayed in rented accommodation and gave tuitions to children for up to eight hours. The money thus earned was used to pay her rent and her fees.

She completed her schooling with excellent grades and got admission in Gargi College of Delhi University. Travelling to her college was an arduous task as she has Fragile Bone Disorder in which the bones become weak and even a slight injury leads to multiple fractures. Yet she managed to complete BA in Applied Psychology. She then got admission in a Masters course in International Relations at JNU.

It is admirable that Ummal didn’t let her disability come in her way, but she instead got associated with several voluntary groups working on disability. She also represented disability rights groups in various countries and was honoured as a Role Model for her extraordinary work on disability by the National Commission for Women in 2015.

Nothing worked her way. Yet Ummal overcame physical, social and financial problems to achieve her goal. She hopes to work for the underprivileged sections of society. She is in touch with her parents. Talking about them she said that her father might not know what IAS is, but he may know what a collector is.

This inspirational story of Ummal Khair will certainly act as a guiding light and motivation for all youngsters to make the most out of their lives.

Image Source: StarsUnfolded