Mariam, 22, lives with her widowed mother and three sisters in the Okhla village area of Delhi. Her father, who died two years ago was from the low-income category but put great emphasis on education. Mariam was a meritorious student who always had high marks in school and secured admission to the Bachler of Physiotherapy (BPT) through the NEET exam in Delhi’s prestigious Jamia Hamdard University.

Ms. Mariam was a bright student at her school and quite active in extracurricular activities. In 2018 she was part of the “Children’s Biodiversity Summit” at Navdanya Biodiversity Conservation Organic Farm, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. She was part of the Physiotherapy Team during the Apollo New Delhi Marathon in February 2023. She is an active Member of the university NSS and Hamdard Literary Club.

A year ago, her dream career came to a standstill when her father died due to Covid-19 induced infections. She lost her financial support for such an expensive course from her standard. At that time the HWF extended its helping hand by providing a scholarship for which she expresses her gratitude.

“My father’s death left us distressed and perplexed about my career but the Almighty answered my prayers through the HWF when I received a scholarship which brought a ray of light in my darkest time.” -MARIAM