It was almost night. It was cold. The rain was pouring down very hard. My mind began to wander off on how this rain had affected my task. Until suddenly, my thoughts were disrupted when I caught a glimpse of a shadow. My eyes became transfixed on this little person.
What made me notice him was that he was picking and sorting out trash from the trash bin. In the rain. In cold weather. Almost midnight… His name is Firman. He’s 10 years old. He is a scavenger boy.
Intrigued, I called him over and started to chat with him. “I’m doing this to pay my school bills” he said, when I asked him why he was scavenging. He also said that he helps his father foot the bill to buy food for his family. I went silent. Suddenly flashbacks came to me on what I was doing when I was 10. I won’t go to the details, but it mainly consists of sleeping, playing and eating.
Firman’s typical work day starts at the break of dawn. Right past midday, he rests under a shade to avoid the scorching sun. At evenings, he sells his “bounty” to a collector and, after emptying his bag, starts working again. Come 8 P.M., he rests. Approaching midnight, he starts scavenging again until 2-3 P.M. He then rests till dawn and goes through the cycle once again. He eats 1 or 2 simple meals a day. He never takes a vacation (taking a vacation will translate to not having anything to eat). And btw, he’s also saving to startup his own business.
Don’t forget that he’s 10 years old.
The world is filled with a lot of people who went from zero to hero. From rags to riches. Firman could be one of them. He has turned life’s lemons into lemonade. He has a dream. He works hard. He has street smarts. He has a lot of years ahead to look forward at (did I mention that he’s only 10 years old?
).Why did I call this post “The success story of Firman….”? Because,
he has successfully inspired me. I hope he inspires you too
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