Good Samaritan reads mid-day report on how the fire destroyed her hopes of appearing for her medical exams and offered to pay Rs 15,000 to cover her expenses
Ruby Srivastava said the donor also gave her a sweater to wear during her exam in Jaipur. Pic/Shadab Khan
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On December 19, all of Ruby Srivastava’s hopes had reduced to ashes. Now, thanks to a mystery donor, she has some hope of putting her life back together again.
Just days before her first year pathology exams, the fire in Dharavi’s Premnagar slums had not only gutted her house, but also her notes, admission card and the train ticket and money saved up for the journey to the exam centre in Jaipur.
21-year-old Ruby is no stranger to tragedy, having lost her father in the 2005 Mumbai deluge. Ever since then, her elder sister has been supporting the family of seven on her modest earnings as a teacher. Ruby had dreamed of becoming a doctor and finally lifting her family out of poverty. “After the fire, I had lost all hope of realising my dream and helping my family,” she recalled.
Read Story: Massive fire in Dharavi slum: Victims lose homes, businesses
But after reading the mid-day article about her plight, a mystery donor came forward and offered to pay R15,000 to cover the expenses of her journey to Jaipur for the exam. She was able to buy a ticket to Jaipur and will finally go to the Paramedical Institute for her Pathology exam on December 23. “The person who has offered this money is like god to me. I also want to thank mid-day for publishing the article, which brought us help. All is still not well, but the situation is a little better,” said Ruby.
“The donor even gave me a sweater since it is very chilly in Jaipur at this time of the year, and I don’t even have any clothes apart from the ones I’m wearing now,” she added.
mid-day spoke to the Good Samaritan, who wished to remain anonymous: “After reading the article, I felt I could do something during her hour of need. Hence, I decided to help.”
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