[ad_1]
— Moin Shah
Mohd. Sameer, 17, remembers the night of February 24, 2020 that would upend his life and force him to drop out of school. He was returning from an Ijtema (a religious congregation) to his home in Mustafabad. A clash had broken out in front of him and an unidentified assailant shot at him.
The shrapnels injured Sameer’s spinal cord, resulting in paraplegia, a condition which paralyses the lower half of the body. He survived the injury but was bedridden for two months. The incident happened when he was halfway through his 9th grade at a government school in Mustafabad. He had to drop out.
After a hiatus of two years battling with his condition, Sameer finally decided to enrol himself in class 10 in 2022, taking online classes. Last week, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) announced its board exam results and Sameer has cleared Class 10.
“The happiness was uncontrollable, I was afraid that I might fail. Three years away from school is a lot of time,” he said, reacting to the results.
His mother, Shahana Parveen, said she was happy for her son’s success and hoped for a brighter future ahead, “Now he will pass class 11 and 12, after which he will secure a job,” she said.
Mohd. Sameer with his mother Shahana Parveen
Sameer’s father, Mohd Zakir, sells grass used in air coolers. For Zakir, the news comes as “much-needed comfort” amidst his business taking a hit with the advent of factory-made honeycomb pads coolers.
The eldest among nine siblings, Sameer says he is ambitious and wants to set a benchmark by becoming a doctor.
“I feel very weird that I cannot converse in English. If I move out, I will have to know how to talk in English. I plan to start taking tuitions for the same. I want to do MBBS after class 12.”
In these three years, Sameer has developed a hobby of singing which, he says, helped him reel out of the stress caused by the injury.
“My life took a turn after the bullet hit me, I was clueless about what I could even do. For more than a year I was unsure whether I would be fine or not.”
He chose to learn music as it did not “require him to move from one place”. ‘It brought me a lot of satisfaction. I have a teacher, Tanzeem maam, who gives me lessons every week,” he said.
Sameer has also recently introduced workouts into his routine to gain strength and stimulate the movement of his legs.
Looking back at the turn of events, Sameer feels grateful to all the people who supported him. He wished he had received more support from his school when the accident happened, so he would not be prompted to drop out.
[ad_2]
