In a small village called Khutauna in Bihar's Jamui district, a ten-year-old girl named Sushma Kumari walks nearly one and a half kilometres to school every single day, even though both her feet have been bent inward since birth and her legs shake the moment she tries to stand. Despite the daily struggle, she has never let it stop her, and she studies in class four at the Utkramit Madhya Vidyalaya in Khutauna.
Sushma is not the only one in her family dealing with a physical challenge. Her elder sister is also disabled in both legs and had earlier studied at the very same school. On top of that, Sushma's mother cannot hear. In other words, the entire family copes with different kinds of physical hardship every day, yet none of it has stopped Sushma from going to school.
Every Step On The Road Is A Struggle
The portion of Sushma's feet below the ankle is completely bent, which means she cannot even wear slippers. Walking on the regular road causes pebbles and gravel to dig into her feet, making the journey even harder. That is why she prefers taking a route through the fields instead of the road, since the muddy, earthen surface is gentler on her feet and also shortens the distance to school somewhat.
Monsoon Turns The Walk Into Nearly Impossible
The rainy season brings the biggest challenge for Sushma. The unpaved roads and the footpaths through the fields turn into thick mud. Walking through it is difficult even for an able-bodied person, but for Sushma it becomes almost impossible. Her grandmother, Siya Devi, said that Sushma has fallen several times on the muddy path, and because of this, there are days during the rains when she cannot go to school at all.
Wants To Wear The Police Uniform After Finishing Her Studies
Despite everything working against her, Sushma is clear about what she wants. She said, I want to study and become a police officer. She added that having feet like hers causes a lot of trouble while moving around, that gravel on the road pierces her feet and makes things worse, and that when the path turns muddy in the rains, going to school stops altogether. The school's principal, Rahul Kumar, said that Sushma comes to school every day. He said she does face difficulty, but she pushes past it and attends school regularly. He also mentioned that Sushma's elder sister, who is also disabled, used to study at the same school.
No Government Help Has Reached Her So Far
Sushma's family said that to this day, she has not received any government assistance that could make her daily commute to school easier. She has not even been provided with a tricycle yet. Family members say that if she had a tricycle, her daily journey would become much easier, and her studies would be far less affected during the rainy season. Sushma's story is now inspiring many others as well.
