While taking care of mentally challenged mother and younger brother on her own, Jayalakshmi has shown the world that age is just a number. She has inspired millions of people through her determination to not let their circumstances break their dreams.
At IFORHER, we are celebrating this class 11 student from Puddukkottai, K Jayalakshmi, who gave us a reason to smile. This young girl will be soon visiting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in May next year as she won an online competition, conducted by Go4Guru. Jayalakshmi is a Tamil medium student and she took English coaching classes for a month. She scored ‘Grade 2’ in the competition and was the best performer.
But, what makes her win so special is her spirit to fight against her circumstances. While kids of her age enjoy their childhood, this young girl is not only raising her mentally challenged mother but also her younger brother. She is the sole breadwinner of her family. Her father lives separately and sends money once in a while.
In order to make ends meet, she not only takes tuition classes for Class 8 & 9 students but also sells cashews. But, neither her circumstances nor her hardships could break her spirit or her dreams.
A science student at government high school, Jayalakshmi, is an academically talented girl. She has won numerous scholarships such as the National Means Cum-Merit Scholarship. And, now she has won a competition where she will get an opportunity to have a full tour of NASA and interact with astronauts. The winners will also be taken to places like Disney World.
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While sharing how she got to know about the competition by chance, TNIE quoted her as saying:
“When I was practicing for a carrom match, I saw a newspaper lying beside the board. It had a story about Dhaanya Thasnem, who won a chance to go to NASA last year. I was intrigued and immediately went home and registered for the exam.”
But, sadly NASA trip is going to cost around Rs 1.70 lakh. She further added,
“My father lives separately and sends money once a while. My teachers and students pitched in to help me get a passport. The passport officers also offered me Rs 500. I have requested the Collector to help me with expenses.”
Sharing how she wants her win to inspire other kids, she mentioned:
“I want to make a rocket-like Abdul Kalam. No one from a government school has won this trip. I want to inspire government school students. If I can do it, so can they.”
We are in awe of this young girl’s courage and determination. She is fighting against circumstances with all the positivity and determination. We wish her luck for all future endeavors. While many of us give up on our dreams because of our circumstances, the inspiring stories like that of Jayalakshmi show us how we can achieve anything if we believe in ourselves.