Cleaning Staff | Salma's Steadfast Pillar
"No institution can stand on one person's shoulders alone - Asha too is a pillar without whom Salma's existence would be incomplete."
Asha Devi was born on 1 January 1973 in Trilokpuri, Delhi. Both her parents worked as sanitation employees in government service, which meant the family was financially stable - yet Asha was denied schooling while her brother was educated up to Class 10. She was married off at just 16 or 17 years of age to Mahendra Singh of Rataul.
Life was difficult. Her husband's excessive drinking brought hardship into the home. By the time she had two daughters - Ritika and Jyoti - and a son named Akash, her husband passed away while Asha's youngest was still an infant.
Asha's mother-in-law, Bhagwati Devi, was already working at Salma. She brought Asha along, and when Bhagwati Devi herself passed away, Asha took on the full responsibility of the school's cleaning work - sometimes bringing her children with her because she had no one to leave them with.
The hardest blow came when her son Akash, leaving behind two children - Manvi and Mahir - took his own life. Asha now cares for his children too. What makes her extraordinary is not just her perseverance but her daughter Ritika's steadfast support: Salma's Principal Sheeba Ma'am writes that without Ritika, Asha may not have been able to carry this responsibility so faithfully.
Asha educated both her daughters - Ritika to Class 12 and Jyoti to Class 9. She continues to serve Salma every day, despite her own failing health, with total commitment.