Sunshine Story: From Malwani slums to medical college classroom

For 18yearold Samad Ahmed a cramped house in the slums and his fathers meagre rickshaw drivers salary were never excuses to not do well at school Today this Malwani slum boy a consistent topper at school is studying to be a doctor at LTMG Medical College SionSamads father Rafiq Ahmed 47 is an auto driver and makes around Rs 300 a day which is half that on days he is unable to ride His mother Ruksana 36 sews clothes during the festive season earning a few hundred rupees while his elder brother is a mechanic But this August 1 was celebration day for the family after Samad got his coveted seat in the first year MBBS at LTMG College He had scored 617 720 in NEET and was ranked 4520 out of 14 lakh students who appeared from across the country this yearSamad took a gap year last year after his NEET score of 467720 gave him admission only to the dental course at Nair Dental College His mentor Larzy Vargheese former principal of St Mathews High School and Junior College where he did his schooling had advised him to do so Samad also credits his classmate Shafique Ansari 20 for setting him on the right path I was an average student who would score above 50 per cent but ever since I started sharing a bench with Shafique the class topper I began to develop an interest in studies10x12 room called homeHome for Samad is a 10x12 room where he stays along with his parents and an older and younger brother Children are constantly playing outside and noise from the furniture store across the house continues through the day So Samad stays back at his private tutorial class in Kandivli to study till late at night He returns home around 10 pm and continues to study till 3am dailyI want to give my parents the best and want to inspire my younger sibling to study hard They never complain when I have to keep the lights on all night But there is no other way for me to finish my medical studies said Samad I always dreamed of either being a neurosurgeon or a cardiologist We have limited research in neurons and the working of nerves has not been fully explored I want to do more research in this filed said SamadFortunately for Samad he has no money worries as his education is being sponsored by the SNS Charitable Trust that even takes care of his tuition classes When Samad joined medical college the trust even gave him six pairs of clothes Today Samad is a minor celebrity in his locality Neighbours routinely come over to ask for advice on medical issues A neighbours daughter who is pregnant came over a few days ago with the sonography test reports to check if the foetus was growing properly I assured her that everything was Samad saidShafique Ansari Samads classmate and inspiration who is doing his second year MBBS at JalgaonSamads inspirational classmate Shafique 20 has got admission to the Government Medical College in Jalgaon Shafiques father is a tailor in Samads locality and his studies are being sponsored by Rotary Club of Queens Necklace The trusts had come forward to sponsor their higher studies after Shafique and Samad topped their school in Std 10 95 and 945 per cent respectively Speaking from Jalgaon Shafique said I want to be a cardiologist a dream that I have had since childhood I want to give poor patients the best cardiac treatment possible at affordable costsFocus on NEETBoth Samad and Shafiques advice to students from poor families is to never give up and to dare to dream big Their advice for bright young students is Focus more on the NEET entrance examination than HSC NEET is the only gateway to a bright future Narayan Iyer CEO of Indian Development Foundation IDF who was instrumental in bringing the trusts and the talented boys together said Both Samad and Shafique are an inspiration to students who come from poor socioeconomic backgrounds They never let poverty come in the way of their dreamsInterestingly Samad and Shafique are the highest qualified people in their respective families The boys mentor Larzy Varghese told midday These boys have made us proud by getting admission in medicine by scoring good marks in NEET They deserve all the laurels in life and our job is to help them in every possible way to be good and responsible citizens