A little girl hopping her way to school due to a disability has become a social media sensation overnight for her dedication to study and rare fighting spirit. The 10-year-old schoolgirl has lost one of her legs in a road accident two years back.

Strangely, the loss didn’t deter Seema Kumari from attending her school located about a kilometer away from her sleepy village. The Class IV girl has no complaints about her fate as she has become stronger with each passing day. With a bag hanging on her back, she trudges to her school on one foot every day, literally hopping, taking no note of the scorching heat nor friends to give her company.

The girl hails from Fatehpur village which falls under Khaira block of Jamui district.

“My parents are not literate; they are labourers, but I want to study and become a teacher,” Seema told the media.

Such had been her dedication to study that she compelled her parents to get her admitted to the school although they were initially unwilling to do so due to severe financial constraints. She says she doesn’t want to be a burden on her family. Her father, Khiran Manjhi, is a migrant labourer while her mother, Baby Devi, works on a brick kiln to support their family of seven.

Her school teacher, Gautam Kumar Gupta, said she salutes the fighting spirit of the girl. She never complains about her disability and nor does she miss any of her classes. What pains him the most is the way the girl struggles so hard to reach her school.

Seema’s mother said seeing other children from her village going to school, she insisted on admitting her to the school. “We are very poor, unable to bear the cost of her study yet have enrolled her due to her insistence. Now, I feel proud to notice how everybody talks about her dedication for study,” her mother Baby Devi said.

Meanwhile, help has poured in for the little girl from various quarters as her story hit the headlines. The first to act was local district magistrate Avnish Kumar Singh who rushed to the village of the girl and handed her a tricycle. He also assured other support to the Dalit girl in the future and asked the teachers to take special care of her.

Bollywood actor Sonu Sood who has emerged as a “real-life hero” since covid pandemic struck India too has come forward to provide her with all kinds of support. “Now, she will go to school by jumping on not one but both feet. I am sending the ticket, the time has come to walk on both feet,” Sood tweeted today.

State Building Construction Minister and JD-U leader Ashok Kumar Chaudhary also announced all support for the girl. According to him, the Mahavir Chaudhary Trust will not bear all the cost of her treatment. The girl had suffered serious injuries after a tractor-trolley ran over her limb. Doctors tried to treat her but had to eventually amputate her limb to save the infection from spreading to other parts of her body.