In 2010, I joined a school in Bhurarani. Garima was a class 5 student. A giggly little girl, she would often catch my attention for her chirpiness. In the first week of my joining, she came to me and told me that she likes it when I speak in English and she would want to learn all the words I speak. I smiled at her and told her that I would teach her. 

Eager to learn as many English sentences as she could in the shortest time, I noticed that she started using them while talking to her friends. She was hardworking and ambitious, determined to make something of her life. 

Eager to learn as many English sentences as she could in the shortest time, I noticed that she started using them while talking to her friends. She was hardworking and ambitious, determined to make something of her life. 

One day, she came to me during the recess; while we were chatting, she casually told me about her family—her mother and father were seriously ill, they were seven sisters, and the family was struggling to make ends meet. I asked her who took care of the house and the cooking “I do,” she replied with innocence, not a fraction of tension on her face. “I cook for everyone in the morning before coming to school. And I and my sisters manage all the other chores after we go back home.” 

Her gameness was amazing. This 11-year-old became my source of inspiration. I learned from her how to fight the odds with positivity.

(The writer is a teacher with GPS Adarsh Indira Bengali Colony, Rudrapur. Views expressed are her personal. 
The name of the child has been changed to protect her identity. )