Flight to success
Mamta Kumari
Mamta, 29yrs old, is an alumnus of Gyan Shakti Vidyalaya (GSV), a school after school located in NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh (Delhi NCR). She is working with Spicejet airlines currently. On any single day her routine takes her through donning the uniform and waiting for her office cab to take her to work. Her life now stands in sharp contrast to what she was born into.
Mamta joined Gyan Shakti Vidyalaya in 2006 in class four. Her father was a security guard and her mother a home maker for a family of five children including Mamta. Her family shifted to chilla khaader for which she had to drop out from her school. Her family erected their jhuggi (hutment) and Mamta would help her mother carry out the daily chores including looking after her siblings. With her oldest sibling being physically challenged and her father an alcoholic the challenges of day-to-day survival mounted. GSV was a golden opportunity for her and many others to continue education, something that they would not have pursued otherwise. Through the school she got admission in the Government School located in Mayur Vihar, while GSV provided her with the additional support required in academics and personality development. The teachers here were sensitized to educate the students who were the ‘first generation-learners’.
Accustomed to fighting the odds every day, Mamta saw GSV with hope and joy. In 2017 GSV held its first Annual play called ‘Khoob ladi Mardani’ where she played the lead role of ‘Jhansi ki Rani’. She recalls her trainer, Mr Nadeem, telling her to imagine herself as the queen and encouraging her with ‘you can do it!’. The profound theatre practises boosted her confidence and with that aura she rolled out a hair-raising performance. The experience of theatre as well as many others contributed critically
to what she is today.
It was so new and different from the life that she was familiar with. Squalor & deprivation had followed or preceded her everywhere. Something as basic as using the toilet came with its hazard of being exposed to bystanders. Family members would accompany each other to ensure safety. Her mother feared her safety while crossing the pond near her house, while on way to the school. GSV began to penetrate her day-to-day life. The water her family used for cooking improved, as GSV installed a tubewell that provided it. The colour of water no longer was yellow.
Mamta lost her father in 2018 but as she grieved,she also turned towards a job opportunity facilitated by GSV leading her to the spice jet office for an interview. She took her chances without knowing or even giving much thought to ‘Aviation’ or the brand ‘Spicejet’. In all 12-15 students took the interview out of which 4-5 were shortlisted for different departments, including Mamta who works with the ground staff. Once selected she was asked whether she was fine with the salary. Nothing mattered to her, more than the job itself and she readily agreed.
The on-job training propelled her into the field of aviation and into a life that she had never dreamt of. This too was not free of challenges, but totally different from what she was accustomed to. Expressed by Mamta, “My first day of training at Spicejet made me aware of how different I was from the rest of the trainees. They spoke English and would swiftly respond to questions asked, while I struggled to understand even the very basic conversation. The others came with this dream of working with Spicejet whereas I came with no dreams and expectations. For me bagging a regular job was sufficient.” Once her job was confirmed there was no looking back. The rest of Mamta’s siblings too studied and got employed in different fields. Her family now live not in a jhuggi but in a house that has its own toilet. She continues to say, “Without the platform provided by GSV that highlights education as the power for change, I would never have been where I am today. I will always be grateful to Sunil Sir (co-founder GSV), to my teacher, Janki Ma’am, to the GSV volunteers, my family and to the remarkable staff of Spicejet, all of whom accepted me as I am, and motivated me to re-discover myself”.
Mamta proudly shares the certificates of appreciation awarded to her on job, that substantiate her determination to break the status quo.
