Story of Shibdas Porey

Early Life 

As someone who was born with a disability in one of his legs, 29-year-old Shibdas Porey has seen a lot of disappointment, misery, and frustrations in life. He lives in a small village, which is 90 kms away from Kolkata, in the district of Howrah. Shibdas has an older brother who works in a small shop. His father is a daily wage labourer and his mother takes care of the household. The income in the household hardly amounts to 5000 INR a month, which is barely enough to provide for a family of 4.

Disability and its Challenges 

Shibdas could not pursue his education beyond class VIII, as the household’s income barely covered the basic expenses. He had a 60% disability in his left leg and went to many hospitals to get it treated. From the Government Hospital at Howrah to spending close to 20 days in a hospital at Vellore for treatment, he had seen it all. 

After completing his final examinations for Class VIII, he started working in a tiny cycle garage, doing odd jobs for a meagre salary of INR 2500 a month. He used to deliver newspapers at people’s doorsteps to earn some extra cash. He worked very hard to be of some help to his struggling family and to provide a better life for them. 

His only aim was to find a better job as early as he possibly could, so that he could improve his family’s standard of living. The rat race makes it difficult for everyone coming from poor economic backgrounds to find a job; imagine how difficult it must have been for a person with a disability who hadn’t completed his education. 

Shibdas was struggling to find a job of his liking, but he was resolute in pursuing his goal and let nothing get in his way or deter him. Instead of cribbing and whining about how life was unfair, he took it in his stride and kept at it!

Journey with Youth4Jobs 

It was through social media that Shibdas came to know about Y4J’s Online Training Program. He got in touch with our team and expressed interest in the 21-day training program. Shibdas was very enthusiastic during these sessions and displayed great energy. He was extremely regular and didn’t miss even one session. Unlike a lot of other candidates who attended these sessions from the comfort of their homes, Shibdas attended these sessions from the cycle garage that he was working at.

Placement 

Shibdas had just one condition about where he wanted to work. He wanted to ensure that his workplace was close to his house, so he would not have to commute. If he were to find a job in Kolkata or some other place that’s far away, the everyday journey to and from the workplace would have been very difficult for him. 

On the completion of training, Shibdas was placed at Dey Industrial Corporation as a Machine Operator. His workplace is not very far from his hometown and he earns a decent package every year. Shibdas is also pursuing his incomplete education and plans to appear for his board exams very soon.

We hope he aces his exams, like he has conquered every other challenge that came his way. Our team wishes him the best!

Source: As published in ‘50 Stories- Jobs for Disabled in COVID Times’ book by Youth4Jobs Foundation