Amid wave after wave of the Covid pandemic, while many prefer to take excuses citing unavailability of opportunities for livelihood, career and other growth prospects in life, 15 year old Sima Madkami has taught everyone how not to lose hope in the face of uncertainty.
A class 10 student of Sitaguda govt SSD girls school, Sima has a tremendous urge to learn and become at least a worthy person in life. The second child of Mukka Madkami of Tandapalli village, Sima’s story tells a tale of how God helps them who helps themselves.
With an agrarian family, Sima’s father has an acre of land which he cultivates to feed his family of five. But this pandemic has shattered his backbone like never before. For his family, forget education, now earning means for just survival is the most they can.
Despite extreme financial struggles, Sima has somehow managed to keep her intact from dropping out from the studies unlike her elder sister who had to pack her bags to come back home after class 10.
The year 2020 was an extremely difficult time for Sima as she could not attend her studies due to the closure of schools and she was even contemplating dropping out. But somehow she stuck with the decision of not quitting the school thinking that the crisis may fizz out in few months time.
But a year later, the situation was still the same as far as education was concerned. As dark clouds began to gather over Sima’s future, she understood that it is still far away before schools are reopened and she could continue her studies.
She however did not want to lose out and so made up her mind to take a bold decision. Sima wasted no time in going to the jungle where she collected Mahula flowers and stocked them for selling in the market. She continued to sell the flowers and even collected Mahula seeds until she could add up a sizeable sum of Rs 10000 with which she brought a smartphone.
Now she effortlessly continues her studies from Mondays to Fridays through online platform. Expressing happiness that her persistence had paid off, Sima said the new asset will help her a lot in continuing her school education and also take her beyond.
"I saw my other friends sell Mahula to buy mobiles and so I sought permission to go ahead and sell the flowers to which he agreed. Gradually, I managed to arrange a decent sum of money to buy a mobile. Getting a smartphone has eased my online studies during this pandemic. I am taking my lessons through YouTube live classes and Whatsapp," said Sima.
On his family's ordeal, Sima's father said, "We are living under extreme duress and I request the State government to help my family and daughter in this time of crisis."