My Life-Changing Journey of NavGurukul.
“My father always says ‘ Tum toh Bete ho hamare’ & I correct him every damn time with a ‘ Nahi Papa. Main ‘BETI’ hoon. Aur aisi hi hoti hai betiyaan’”
20 year old Annu comes from Kishanganj, Bihar. Forgettable as much as the name of the place may sound, one would take only a few minutes to discover how unforgettable a personality young Annu is.
‘I remember being born into a middle-class family, till a family feud left father both broke & emotionally broken. It was Maa who then later started a small business. Though the business barely pays off our expenses even now, we somehow managed to survive. There were times when my father sold the gold we had, to pay for my school. In return, all I could do is always try my best to perform. I always had an interest in Informatics Practices, & hence I took up a course side by side when I realized my B.com back there in Kishanganj was just about mugging things up & made no sense.
I finished the entrepreneurship course at Project Potential (an NGO), & got introduced to NavGurukul(NG) soon after. After fighting the battle of persuading parents and relatives to let me go to Delhi finally I joined NavGurukul where I have learned not only different programming languages but also a meaningful way to live my life by caring, loving and serving the community & am now placed with Mindtree undergone my training in Bhubaneshwar. Training with all techies makes me realize I have to work a little on my Tech jargon, but when it comes to execution, I can be equally good or maybe better.
I was the first girl on NavGurukul campus, & we set it up together. I was given a location on google map & asked to go get things on my own for the center. This was new in my life- this freedom, trust & empowerment! My parents wouldn’t let me go alone anywhere other than college. But now after getting a job as a Software Engineer I alone moving around different metropolitan and my father have no issue now. As he knew I am capable of it this is all because of varieties of the role that I have played while being a student at NG as an IT coordinator, food and hygiene coordinator facilitate as a facility in-charge, mentor for juniors, took interviews for newcomers at NG.
And this initiative-taking ability was of great help later when my mother was diagnosed with severe liver disease. We had no money for the treatment. I went around Delhi asking for help, I got an appointment for surgery in AIIMS, met high-rank officials & sought financial waiver. My father was astonished by the way I handled the situation. The only sad part is we lost Maa due to some complications even though the procedure went seemingly normal.
I lost the old Annu, & found a much braver version of myself here. Abhishek, Zubin, Anuradha, Surbhi are my role models. And now after gaining some experience, I want to get back to my town, do something for the women & break all the taboos surrounding them.
If I can, everyone else too can!’