Dream of orphan girl who drove rickshaw comes true
The Sindh government has fulfilled its promise of gifting a house to a young lady rickshaw driver of Karachi besides giving her a government job. A two-room house, measuring 80 square yards, has been gifted to Alisha in Shah Faisal Colony.
Nawab Ali Wassan, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Sindh, praised the Express Media Group on behalf of the provincial government for highlighting the story of Alisha six months ago.
Alisha, 17, lived with her mother and a sister in a small rented house in the Drigh Road area of the metropolitan city. Her father passed away a few months ago. Luckily, he had trained Alisha in driving rickshaw during his illness.
After her father's death, Alisha could not find a decent job to support her family. The family ran into serious financial problems. Alisha decided to drive a rickshaw to support the family. She managed to keep the kitchen running, but the house rent was very difficult to manage.
Soon after Alisha's story appeared on Express News TV, Nawab Wassan contacted her on June 17 and assured her every possible support on behalf of the Sindh government. He also promised to give her family a house. Subsequently, the Sindh government constructed a two-room house on a piece of land in six months and handed it over to Alisha.
Speaking to the media outside Alisha's house, Nawab Wassan said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had immediately taken notice of the Express News story of the 17-year-old orphan girl and directed the government to gift her family a house in the Benazir Housing Scheme.
The ownership documents of the two-room house were handed over to Alisha on Saturday. The Sindh government also announced a job for her. He added that about 6,000 houses have been built in Sindh under the Benazir Housing Scheme.
On the occasion, Alisha thanked Express News for highlighting her story. "I was very worried because it used to become difficult to earn enough money from rickshaw driving to pay the house rent besides running kitchen," she said as she gave credit to Express News for the house and government job.
"Now I will get a job and my family can live a peaceful life," she said. Alisha and her mother Salma were beaming with joy after receiving the ownership documents of their house.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2023.