An 11-year-old girl Arooj is making headlines for running a food point in Lahore, Pakistan. The young girl who sells channa chat along with her mother just recently lost her father but embraced this big loss quite bravely. She is just a kid who helps her mother in earning a livelihood. The courage and efforts towards supporting her mother reflect that the kid is breaking stereotypes. The reason is that it is very unlikely for women to adopt unconventional means of earning, especially when they have suffered losses. Surely, females in Pakistan can be seen becoming successful in different fields. However, as compared to men, women are rarely seen selling food items on carts or doing businesses based on the street economy. Arooj on the other hand is setting an example for everyone by helping her mother survive in a job that doesn’t conform to the social norms.
Story behind Food Point in Lahore by a Young Girl
The 11 years old kid told HoursTV about the recent events of her life that made her choose this path. A month back, Arooj started selling Channa Chat using a small table in the middle of Allah Hoo Chowk Road, Lahore. But, sooner, a customer helped her buy a decorated and fancy-looking cart with her name on it. Now, Arooj doesn’t have to go through the problems alone.
Although, she has to manage her studies and work side by side. But the way she talked to the team, it seemed like she was doing just fine. She goes to school in the morning, comes back at 2 pm, takes a rest, and then at 5:00 pm, she comes out to run the food point.
While talking to HoursTV she gave a message to the people like her. She said that efforts are a big deal when it comes to earning. In her view, no one should sit back and do nothing after facing difficulties. Instead, every broken person needs to try harder in life to achieve their goals. Sitting idol and begging for money shouldn’t be an option.
Caring Customers Turn Out to Be Angels for Arooj
Arooj Food point in Lahore is an outcome of customers who found the girl’s efforts inspiring. One of the people who visited the cart, funded Arooj’s family to buy the material and keep running the point. According to the girl, the individual didn’t come back again after helping her family. Although she said, customers often come and support them financially.
Arooj Not Becoming Part of Poverty and Beggary Stats in Pakistan
Pakistan is among many countries with a high poverty rate. Today, the ratio stands at 39.3%, according to the World Bank. Along with that, comes the beggary in which a big number of children added too. According to research by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), an estimated 1.2 million children indulge in begging on the streets of big urban cities of Pakistan. Keeping the high ratio in view, Arooj seems to have figured out that begging is not an option when it comes to earning and surviving in society. Similarly, this Food Point in Lahore is an example of a positive perception of survival in terms of living a life with dignity.
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