Over the last three years, 15-year-old Dawood Ibrahim has been following a strict regimen. He starts his day at 4 a.m. washing cars and two wheelers, then distributes newspapers in the area. He hurries to reach school by 8 a.m., when special classes start.
In spite of all the hard work, young Ibrahim is relieved, as he can now pursue his dream of becoming an engineer. The son of a watchman and a student of the Rotary Midtown-adopted Government Higher Secondary School at Gottigere, he scored 593 out of a possible 625 marks in the State School Leaving Certificate examination, the result of which was announced last week.
His father Khader Sab, a quarry worker from Wadi in Gulbarga district, moved to the State capital about 10 years ago.
“My elder brother had already come here and I followed him with my wife and four children,” said Khader, who now works as a watchman in Skanda Nilaya Apartments at MLA Layout in Kalena Agrahara. His family stays at a small tenement in the apartment complex.
Ibrahim, who is the fourth child, has not disappointed his parents. “I have never been late to classes and my father has also not asked about the Rs. 800 I earn monthly. Instead, I spent it on small things I fancied or for my siblings,” he said modestly.
Last year, Ibrahim won a Spelling Bee contest held for government schools, in which over 2,000 children took part.
He credited his performance to the NGO, Vidya Integrated Development for Youth and Adults (VIDYA). “Volunteers from Vidya Bhavishyan helped me in honing English grammar. They taught us one hour each in the morning and evening,” he said, while thanking S.N. Pankaja, who taught him mathematics in school.
His mother Mumtaz Begum was ecstatic over her son’s success. “I prepared Obbattu on the day the results came. We are very happy for him,” she gushed. With the assistance of Synergy Property Developers, Ibrahim has now joined Science stream at the nearby Loyola College on Bannerghatta Road.
