The Agony of a Slum Child: Yesmin’s Story

“My father is sick and he’s not able to do any work to support our family financially. As a daughter, it’s very hard for me to see my father is struggling to educate his daughter lying on the bed. I want to cure him and I’ll do it when I’ll become a doctor,” Habiba Siddika Yesmin an 11 year-old-girl was telling about her dormant dream.

Habiba Siddika Yesmin is a slum girl who lives in the Chalantika slum area in Mirpur, Dhaka. She attends CSCDP school maneuvering by ADRA Bangladesh. Yesmin has a deep interest in education, though her parents couldn’t get the opportunity to educate themselves.

“I live with my parents. I have four sisters and two brothers. My two sisters and one brother got married and they live separately. So, we’re five members of our family and all of us are living in one room. We’ve to share our toilet and it’s 1:6 means one toilet for 6 families,” Yesmin was telling about her family.

Not only in Bangladesh but in all the under-develop countries the scenario of the slum area is almost the same. Life is full of struggle in the slum. Especially children are mostly deprived of their basic education. They have to fight against the gruesome vulnerabilities constantly.

Their home district is in Bhola, a southern part and coastal region of Bangladesh. They had lost everything by river corrosion. “We had a good time in Bhola, we had our own house and lands but the brutal rive took away everything from us. Then my father decided to move to Dhaka. After our arrival at Dhaka, my father started his struggle to grab a good job to support our family,” said Yesmin having a deep frustration in her eyes.

Yesmin's father’s name is Siddik Mattobbor, mother’s name is Sabera Bibi. Her father is sick and can’t do any work. Her mother is the only earning person in their family who is working as a house-maid. It’s impossible for her mother to support their family with her very little income.

“My mother is doing really hard work to support our family. She is constantly trying to fulfill all of our demands, but she can’t as her income is very low. We can’t eat three meals a day. I’ve to go to school every day without having any foods. I feel bad and can’t concentrate on my studies because I feel hungry when I attend my classes,” Yesmin was describing her agony.

Their expenses are more than their income. Every month they take a loan from other people and sometimes they paid it back with high interest. Her brother who lives with them don’t do any work and her sister started working in a garment factory from this month aiming to contribute to their family.

Yesmin gets educational support from ADRA and is able to continue her schooling up to class VIII. She is very attentive to her classes and this year attended PSC exam and attained GPA 4.80 which paves her way to study more. She is meritorious and one of the best students in her class.

“I want to be a doctor in the future and cure my father. I don’t know how I can continue my schooling as my parents are poor and they don’t have the ability to support my educational expenses. I want to be a good doctor so that I can take care of my family and can treat the poor people who are not able to get proper treatment,” Yesmin was describing confidently.

Unlike Yesmin there’re a number of children in the slum area who are combatting every day to meet their basic demands. It’s very common to see a large scale of drop-out rate in school going children in the slum areas in Dhaka. To shrink this rate and to develop the plight of slum children in our country, people from every sphere should come forward.