The Story of A Poor Child Oliver

A poor child named Oliver lived in a small village. His hut was a mud hut, he did not even have slippers on his feet, but there was a sparkle in his eyes – a sparkle to do something big.

He used to walk several kilometers every day to go to school, but never complained. He did not have books, so he used to study from old books of his friends. He knew that “education is the key to eradicating his poverty.”

His father was a daily wage laborer, who could hardly arrange two meals a day. His mother used to work in other people’s houses to collect some money. Many times there was not enough food in the house to feed the whole family, but Oliver never lost courage.

One day, when he had to pay school fees, but did not have money, he decided to earn on his own. He used to go to school in the morning and wash utensils at a tea stall in the evening.

The people of the village used to make fun of him – “What will you get from education? If you have to wash utensils, then learn it from now itself!” But he quietly kept nurturing his dreams.

One day, there was an essay competition in the school. The boy wrote from his heart – “Poverty is no obstacle, if the intentions are strong!” The school headmaster liked his essay so much that he waived his fees and also gave him free books.

Now he started studying with more enthusiasm than before. School in the day, work in the evening, and studying under the street lights at night – his hard work continued.

Time passed, he topped the school and reached college on scholarship. The struggle continued there too, but he never gave up. He moved himself forward by doing small jobs along with studies.

After a few years, the same boy who washed utensils at a tea stall had now become an engineer in a big company. In the village where people used to laugh at him thinking he was poor, the same people now took his name with pride.

Oliver built a “free library” in the village with his first salary, so that no child stays away from his dreams just due to lack of money.

Learning: Poverty is not a curse, if there is courage and hard work. No one can defeat us until we surrender ourselves.