Story of A Slum Child: Sharmin Wants to be A Doctor

“I want to be a doctor in the future to help poor patients. I want to help my family so that everyone in the family remains healthy and lives a dynamic life. I don’t want to live in the slum anymore. I want to make my parents happy in the future,” said a 12-year-old innocent and intelligent girl Sharmin who attends class V at Chalantika Slum Children Development Project (CSCDP) of ADRA in Bangladesh.

Sharmin and her family live in the Chalantika slum. They are living in a slum that lacks all the basic amenities. Their house is made of bamboo with a CI sheet roof. The rooms are very tiny in the slum. They can’t get the water for drinking properly which disrupts their daily life. They are suffering a lot due to the lack of a garbage management system. People throw garbage everywhere in the Chalantika slum which causes odor. This is the real scenario of the Chalantika slum in Dhaka.

Sharmin along with her family was living in Modhupur, Tangail. Her parents were struggling to get a job in Tangail. They were suffering a lot and couldn’t arrange three meals daily. Later, her parents decided to move to Dhaka for a better future.

“My father learned car driving in Dhaka and started his profession as a car driver. But he couldn’t earn enough to maintain our family comprised of five people. My mother joined a garment factory and started contributing to our family financially. They couldn’t afford my educational expenses. We discovered the ADRA CSCDP center from one of our neighbors. My parents admitted me to the CSCDP center,” Sharmin was unfolding how she found ADRA CSCDP center.

“I’m getting books, pencils, notebooks, school bags, and school dress from CSCDP center for free. I’m also getting food from here. I’ve learned about health & hygiene for daily life. I love the CSCDP center a lot,” Sharmin showed her compassion about the CSCDP center.

Sharmin learns a lot of good things from the CSCDP center. She learns how to clean hands properly, health & hygiene for daily life, respect the elders, etc. After school, she studies by herself and plays with her friends.

“As a teacher, I want to say that everyone needs the education to build the future. Sharmin has an interest in education, so she can use this opportunity to shine her future,” said Shilpi Baroi, teacher of CSCDP center.