Shaista’s Story: Knowledge Saves Lives

Shaista goes to primary school in her village in a village called Bulakiwalla, in Uttarakhand.. Her father is a daily wage earner and her mother earns wages when she works in the fields. Her house not a ‘pukka’ (formal) house, is small and built at the edge of a rain water drain. During the monsoon the family faces several hardships as their home always got washed away. Shaista was frequently unwell and would often be absent from school.  As a result of all these challenges, she was falling behind in her education. Until the MCF helped her join the school health program. Shaista was then referred to a hospital where the family was told that she had a hole in her heart but that she would get better only if she had the right medicines and good food. Working with the medical team and with her family, the MCF followed through with her care, and Shaista did get better and began going to school.  But that was not the end: the MCF’s educational volunteer Rahnuma took special care to teach Shaista every day so that she could catch up with the other students. Change is slow, but possible, especially when it is done with care and joy.  Shaista slowly started taking interest in her lessons. Now Shaista loves school and has caught up with her classmates.  Shaista’s Mother Farida Yunis said, “My daughter is now completely well, she has recovered fully from her illness. Ever since she has come to your class she has learnt a lot. She can now do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  She can also read her English book. She studies well and she now plays with others as well”