Fighting disabilities, Mariambi reaps success

KASARGOD:  When disabled children in the endosulfan-hit region of the district are isolated and kept indoors, Mariambi proved that disability is not the end of the road by winning the SSLC exams. Like many other in her locality, Mariambi lost her fingers at an young age, thanks to the ill-effects of endosulfan.Now, this Mahajana Sanskrit College high school, Neerchal, student has only two tiny half fingers on her right hand, with which she holds the pen and wrote the exams.Owing to the disabilities she was not regular to school, still her hard work and determination paid off with glittering grades in the exams. She  has scored A+ in IT and high grades in other subjects too.She is daughter of Ibrahim and Zuhra of Mallduka. “I want to go for higher studies and be successful in life. My disabilities are not a barrier for education,” said Mariambi. The family lives in a small tattered house, which is on the verge of collapse. The meagre amount Ibrahim earns from his job at a small hotel was their only income.According to her parents, children with disabilities should go to school as any other kid which will make them confident in life. “That is the reason, we sent her to school despite her illness,” said Ibrahim.