Orphan girl who lived by begging at Patna railway station, now runs a cafe

Manoj Pathak

Patna, Jan 30 (IANS) The life journey of a girl from Bihar's Patna is serving as an inspiration for millions of girls across the country as she completed her education after she was found abandoned as a child at the Patna railway station and spent her childhood begging. But today with her immense grit and determination she runs a cafeteria in her native city.

Nineteen-year-old Jyoti till date does not even know who her real parents were. She tells that she was found abandoned as a child by a beggar couple at the Patna railway station.

She says that with the help of many good samaritans she kept moving ahead in life even though she experienced harsh days too.

Jyoti says that as a child she also started begging along with the beggar couple who adopted her. On several days when she earned less money by begging, she would start picking up garbage.

Her life was progressing ahead but the desire to get educated was definitely on her mind. Her childhood had passed without education but the desire to complete her studies did not deter her spirit.

She told IANS that as she pursued her studies she lost her mother who had raised her. Jyoti did not give up easily despite facing tremendous hardships.

She was still nurturing dreams of moving ahead in life when the Patna district administration decided to help her live a better life through a volunteer organisation Rambo Foundation.

Vishakha Kumari, Bihar Head of Rambo Foundation, said that there are five such centres in Patna where the poor and orphaned young boys and girls are kept and imparted education.

After Jyoti joined the Rambo Foundation, her life changed completely as she pursued her studies and passed the matriculation examination with exceptional marks. Following this, she received training in Madhubani paintings at Upendra Maharathi Institute and also learned painting.

Jyoti, however, was not satisfied and with her hard work and passion, she got a job of running a cafeteria in a firm.

She says that she runs the cafeteria all day and studies in her free time. Today she lives in a rented house with her own earnings. Jyoti dreams of making a career in the field of marketing and is still pursuing her studies through open school learning.