By Express News Service HYDERABAD: At the tender age of 15, her parents decided to marry her, even before she could write the last of her SSC 10th examinations. Four years later, she flaunts a GPA of 8.23 in BCom first year from Osmania University, and aims to be a banker, and wishes to buy a house for her mother. Sandhya V, now 19, is the dream story of a fighter who fought and has chosen to script her own fate, rather than depend on others. V Sandhya It was in 2016 that Sandhya was to be married-off. “My parents had severe financial problems and could not afford my studies. Worried, they decided to get me married,” recounts Sandhya. Her parents eke out a living by ironing clothes. However, she did not lose hope. Before quitting education for good, she told her friends about her ordeal and her desire to study further. They, in turn, informed her teachers, who contacted NGO, Balala Hakkula Sangham, who intervened and stopped the marriage. While one would assume that would have been the end of Sandhya’s problems and the beginning of a new life, unfortunately, while she was still in the State home for girls, her father committed suicide. “He could not bear the fact that my marriage broke. He did not know the way ahead,” says a visibly emotional Sandhya. With help from the NGO, she completed her Intermediate. “My father’s death forced my elder brother to drop out of college and work, so my fate was to be something similar,” shares Sandhya. Fighting the odds, she is now only two years away from being the first generation graduate in her family and wants to either pursue banking or be a civil servant. “I wish the government assists me and my brother to complete our graduation,” hopes Sandhya.

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