An 18-year-old named Jyoti, who lives in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, has been unable to walk on her own since birth, yet that hasn't stopped her from dreaming of finishing school and standing on her own feet. She belongs to Mahulanpaar village, and her story has drawn attention only a while after another disabled girl, Ragni, from Ballia's Maniyar area, went viral for a similar reason.
Distance from school ended her studies
Jyoti studied up to class 8 before dropping out, mainly because her school was too far from home. Her father used to cycle her there and back every day, but as he grew older his own legs began troubling him, leaving him unable to keep making the trip. With no other way to reach school, Jyoti's education stopped and her ambitions were confined to the four walls of her house.
Officials step in after the video spreads
Once footage of Jyoti's situation began circulating, Ballia's district magistrate, Mangala Prasad, personally visited her home. He handed her a battery-operated tricycle, a school bag, a helmet, chocolates and a disability certificate. He also instructed the block development officer to arrange a toilet for her house and to get her a home sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
She wants to teach, but there's no money even for cooking gas
Jyoti dreams of becoming a teacher one day. Her sister Pooja says the family owns a gas cylinder but often cannot afford to get it refilled. During the monsoon, rainwater seeps into their house from the road outside, and on some days the family has had to go without food altogether.
A mother's labour, a father's tuition income
Jyoti's mother, Devanti Devi, works as a farm labourer and also keeps goats and a buffalo to help support the household. She still carries the regret of not being able to educate her youngest daughter. Jyoti's father, Gulab Chandra Prasad, once taught at a private school, but leg pain forced him to give up that job. He now earns only around Rs 4,000 to 5,000 a month by tutoring children at home. Despite the hardship, he managed to fund one of his daughters through an M.Ed and B.Ed.
Villagers say the disabled have no support here
A local resident, Mangaldeep, says the village has no facilities to help disabled people get around. When Jyoti was younger, some villagers had given her a tricycle, but she was never able to ride it. Villagers believe that with proper support Jyoti could study, succeed and build an independent life. Two other residents, Gyandeep and Abhishek Kumar, have appealed to the government to extend every possible help so that her dreams can finally take flight.
