Kolkata, May 17 : In an attempt to transform the lives of orphaned, abandoned and neglected children, a taxi driver, Jalaluddin Gazi provides foster care to 150 orphans, nearly 60 kilometres away from Kolkata in the Sunderbans, famous for its Royal Bengal Tiger.
Jalaluddin Gazi runs an orphanage cum school in his village Thakurchak near Joynagar in Sunderban area with his meagre income earned by driving a taxi for the past fifteen years. He has now become a shining example for millions.
He plans to seek government's help for opening a boarding school for the underprivileged children.
Jalaluddin said that he had seen a difficult childhood due to poverty and wanted to make a small difference by taking care of the poor. As a child, he used to scavenge for food with his five brothrs on the pavement of Chandni Chowk in Kolkata. Later, he used to pull a rickshaw in Entally, and afterwards began to drive a taxi, which he now owns.
“The idea of running an orphanage clicked me because during my childhood my parents were very poor.
"When I passed third class I got inclined towards studies but couldn't do it because of my poor financial condition. So I thought that there are many such children who could not study because of lack of money and that is how I came up with the idea of opening the orphanage", he says.
Despite earning only Rs 500 to Rs 1000 a day, he manages the salaries of 16 teachers and four helpers in his school and also provides mid day meal to the children.
Local resident Amita Sengupta says, it is a remarkable achievement for a man who himself is not financially sound.
“This is the first time that a taxi driver is doing such thing. This shows that one can do anything. He used to roam here and there and collect money from the passengers.
" I am really astonished to see what a man can do for his eagerness. This is a remarkable effort and I am very happy to see this. I will publicise it in every possible corner", she said.
Jalaluddin started with opening a school in 1998 with few students and later managed to establish another one in the same area with over 150 students.
