Chasing Dreams

Seema is a short built, talkative girl with a smiling face who makes light of her hardships.

At the tender age of ten she had bone TB that left half her body paralysed. She can still recall the pain she went through, as she was rushed for treatment from one hospital to another. Her schooling had to be stopped. But she continued to study from home and appeared in the class ten board exams through correspondence.”My mother would often break into tears seeing my condition. But she always stood by me till I was able to take care of myself,” says Seema.

Her mother’s care and regular medication helped Seema to start walking on her own and she re-joined regular school and completed class 12.

But this healthy phase was short lived. Seema again fell ill and was diagnosed with severe bone deformity that left her bedridden.”I felt like a burden on my family. I was depressed but my family gave me strength. I was given treatment and I recovered,” she recalls.

Her family shifted to Delhi from her village in Banaras for work and Seema now was desperate to make a career. But considering her health and economic conditions it seemed like a distant dream. But a chance visit to the Tech Mahindra SMART Academy for Healthcare changed her life.”When I stepped inside the Academy with my brother I felt good as everyone gave me a positive feeling and I decided to join,” she says with a smile on her face.

Today, Seema walks slowly but purposefully towards her classroom in the SMART Academy where she is pursuing a 6 month course in General Duty Assistance (GDA).The SMART Academy has given Seema a reason to live and dream. Her disability doesn’t restrict her anymore and she is keen to share her story and tell everyone that the Academy can change everyone’s life the same way as she has changed her life.