Lady Who Lived In A One Bedroom House With Her Family, Becomes Successful Tech Consultant, Builds House For Her Parents

“As a child, I’d go to my friends’ houses, and be surprised that they had their own rooms. My family of 5 lived in a one bedroom house. But I was naïve, so when my friends would come to my house, I would show them around proudly. I’d say, ‘This is our kitchen,’ pointing to 4 tiles in the corner where my Mom cooked; I’d say, ‘That’s our bedroom,’ pointing to the bed; I’d say, ‘This is our Pooja Ghar,’ pointing to a shelf where we kept a tiny mandir; and I’d say, ‘This is our living room,’ pointing to the remaining 6 tiles where we sat.

It was when I grew older that the reality of our situation started hitting me. I craved the privacy of having my own space – I’d feel bad that my Dad and brother would have to step out of the house when us girls had to change our clothes. I became determined to get my family out of there. I promised my parents, ‘I will build us a home one day!’ The only way for me to do that was to work hard in school and college, and then, secure a good job. So, that’s what I did.

And I was so happy when I graduated with one of the best jobs in my batch! It put me a step closer to my dream, and bit by bit, I started saving. 4 years passed while I worked as a tech consultant. During that time, I’d often talk to my family about our dream house – we’d talk about how we’d design our rooms, what colour we’d paint the walls, and how we’d even keep parking space for a car.

Then, just last year, my life changed in the best way possible. First, I got into IIM Lucknow for my MBA! The possibilities blew wide open–I even bagged a summer internship at HUL!

I got the chance to work in product management and innovation, and helped build a web application, which was so cool. I connected with different teams, and even got to visit a factory in Pondicherry. The highlight was being a part of Mr. Sanjiv Mehta’s farewell. During his speech, he said something that I’ll always remember, ‘You take care of the people, and they’ll take care of the business.’ It cemented another dream for me – coming back and working here as a full-time employee!

And I’ll work hard to fulfill this dream, too, because now I know that dreams do come true… just 2 months ago, my family and I finally moved into our house – the one we built with mine and my sister’s savings! Walking into a place that we could call ours, where we all had our own rooms and our own space, was the most emotional moment of our lives. I’ve never seen my parents that happy! I want them to know that it’s just the start – I’m going to keep working hard to give them every happiness in the world!”

Source: Humans of Bombay

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com