Born to a family of a poor van driver in Thakurgaon, Alpana faced difficult times growing up. But braving all odds, she managed to clear this year's MBBS admission test.
However, the teenager's struggles are unlikely to end soon as her father, Aftabar Rahman, has expressed his inability to fund her medical education -- a luxury for even the middle-class in Bangladesh.
"I want to pursue my dream without putting any pressure on my father, who is struggling to make ends meet. Already, he has done a lot for me and my three siblings," Alpana, a resident of Dharia Belsara village in Baliadangi upazila, told UNB.
"Thanks to my father, I could successfully complete my SSC and HSC exams from Kushdangi High School of Baliadangi and Thakurgaon Govt College, respectively. Now I seek the blessings of the people of this country so that I can fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor," she added.
Aftabar, her father, pleaded helplessness. "First, I sold a portion of my farmland to bear the admission expenses of my son who got a chance to study at Dhaka University. Later, I had to sell the rest of the land to fund his studies. Now, I have nothing but a homestead," he said.
His son Munna is a fourth-year student of Dhaka University's Bangla department. "I have to send him Tk4,000 a month," he said.
"Our second daughter is studying in class XII. Alpana has made a penniless father proud. But I am helpless, not in a position to fund her medical education at Mymensingh Medical College with my meager income," said Aftabar.
When contacted, Baliadangi Upazila Nirbahi Officer Zubayer Hossain said the local administration will definitely help the family "if we get an application from them".
