“Money has always been tight- I make 5000 Rupees each month, sometimes less, but I ensured that both my children went to school,” said the famer.
A farmer from Himachal Pradesh who sold his cow so his daughter could continue online classes has received an outpouring of praise and offers of help on social media. On Tuesday, popular page ‘Humans of Bombay‘ shared the story of the farmer, who has not been named. In his interview with ‘Humans of Bombay’, the farmer revealed that when the pandemic forced schools to move their classes online, he borrowed money from his friends so he could buy a smartphone for his 10-year-old daughter.
“Money has always been tight- I make 5000 Rupees each month, sometimes less, but I ensured that both my children went to school,” he said, adding that he had to drop out of school in eight grade but wanted his seven-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter to get the best education possible.
When his daughter’s school started online classes, he did not have a smartphone. The schoolgirl initially went around their village, borrowing smartphones from people so she could study. “She would spend half the day wandering around the entire village, trying to find someone to borrow a phone from. Soon, people started to get fed up,” the farmer said.
Seeing her despondent, he decided to arrange for a smartphone. “I spoke to a few of my friends, explained my situation and they lent me 5000 Rupees!” he said. The farmer and his wife then surprised their children with a smartphone. “My daughter took it and immediately started studying; she’s the one who has the phone most of the time. I was so happy that her studies weren’t compromised,” he said.
After a few weeks, however, the farmer’s friends wanted him to return the money he had borrowed. He would have had to sell the smartphone to arrange for the money, but the thought of breaking his daughter’s heart forced him to make the difficult decision of selling his cow instead.
“I did what I had to – I sold my cow and paid my debts, even though we’re dependent on selling cow milk to survive,” he said. He added that it was his daughter’s dream to become a doctor and concluded his interview with the conviction that she would, one day, definitely wear a doctor’s white lab coat.
The farmer’s story has touched hearts on social media, garnering 14,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook and more than 52,000 ‘likes’ on Instagram.
In the comments section, several people asked for the farmer’s contact details so they could offer help, while others praised him.
“Such an inspiring story, I’m sure they would need plenty of help going forward too. If Humans of Bombay could publish more of such stories and enable us to help them directly (I would love to be able to support this family or another in need) then I’m sure lots would come forward to do their bit,” wrote one commenter.
“Humans of Bombay, how do I help this wonderful father educate his children and get his cow back?” another asked.
Source: ndtv
