For K Jayalakshmi, the sole breadwinner in her family and studying in Class XI, it is dream come true when she got an invitation to visit National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Winning an online contest, this girl from Pudukottai, who is studying in a government school, will be visiting NASA in May 2020.
As far as Jayalakshmi is concerned coming from Rural India, it is an opportunity as she has said would be an inspiration to students in the government schools. Studying in Tamil Nadu government schoo at Adanakottai, she had taken English coaching classes for a month thyat had helped her getting Grade 2 score that had qualified her for the NASA visit.
Despite being selected for the NASA Trip, her all hopes of the visit relies on the Collector for her travel expenses. She is the only bread winner in her family and has to look after her mentally challenged mother and a brother. She takes tuitions and also sells cashews to keep the family going.
On her attending the competition, she has said that it was only by accident that she came to know about it. She said that she come across a newspaper that had the story of
Dhaanya Thasnem, who got a chance to visit NASA last year. She said that it was the inspiration from the story that she registered for the exam.
Stating that she had requested the District Collector to help her for the travel expenses, she said that her father lived separately and sent money occasionally. And as such, the burden had fallen on her shoulders, she added.