Bhubaneswar: Born in humble families they were reconciling to their fate, but destiny had written a different course for them.
Braving all odds, a select group of medical aspirants of Odisha coming from humble background have got entry in medical colleges after clearing tough National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) examination in 2020.
Their dream of becoming medicos got wings due to noble initiative of an Odisha-based charitable group whose all the 19 students succeeded in the NEET, the results of which were declared in October.
The winners are wards of daily labourer, vegetable seller, truck driver, fisherman and idli-vada seller. These meritorious students are products of ‘Zindagi’ programme run by a nongovernmental organisation of academician Ajay Bahadur Singh.
Majority of them got admission in government medical colleges of the state.
The world has come to know about the success story of Super 30 of mathematician Anand Kumar who helped economically deprived children become engineer by qualifying in JEE exams. But, the similar feat of the Odisha group in the field of medical studies is no less romantic.
The exciting tales of Khirodini Sahoo, Roshan Paik, Satyajit Sahoo and Debashish Biswal hailing from remote places of Odisha whose families’ life starts and ends with the challenge of meeting two ends.
Khirodini Sahoo hailing from Angul district is the daughter of farm labourer Kanhu Charan Sahoo. She used to extend helping hands to parents in the field to keep the home fires burning. But, providence helped her continue with her studies and today her wish of wearing a doctor’s apron is within reach.
Roshan Paik whose both parents are also agri labourers is another success story. Debashsi Biswal of Kendrapara is the ward of a small grocery shop owner for whom arranging two square meals is the topmost priority.
Satyajit Sahoo, son of a vegetable vendor in a remote village of Cuttack district is another fortunate lot.
“We got birth in humble families and were destined to live a life of penury. It’s only because of the ‘Zindagi’ foundation that we managed to keep our dreams alive and are on way to become doctors,” an elated Sahoo and Biswal said.
Under the programme run by ‘Zindagi’ foundation, talented underprivileged students are selected from across Odisha and provided free coaching and food to help them crack NEET and become a doctor.
“The year 2020 was a tough challenge for all of us, but firm in our determination we did not let the students feel helpless,” Singh told this news agency.
Another success story is of Subhendu Parida, who used to vend “Idli Vada” alongside his parents. He qualified in NEET exam by achieving 609 marks.
Singh started Zindagi Foundation in the year 2017 in Bhubaneswar. The man behind the success stories of these children had to leave his medical studies and sell tea and sharbat (squash) in the temple town of Deogarh in Jharkhand to sustain his family undergoing financial hardship and pursue studies.
PNN