Meet woman who once begged on road, lived in a slum, scavenged food from garbage bins, became doctor after…

Pinki Haryan, a young woman who once begged on the streets of Himachal Pradesh, overcame extreme poverty with her hard work and dedication and studied tirelessly to realize her dream of becoming a doctor.

Among the scores of ‘inspirational’ stories floating on the internet there is arguably none more truly motivational than the heartwarming tale of Pinki Haryan, a young woman who once begged on the streets of Himachal Pradesh, but overcame extreme poverty with her hard work and dedication and studied tirelessly to realize her dream of becoming a doctor.

Who is Pinki Haryan?

Born in an impoverished family in Mcleodganj in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, Pinki Haryan spent a tough childhood, to put it mildly as her family lived in a slum in Charan Khud, and used to beg on the roads while scavenging for food from garbage bins to survive. Growing up, Pinki’s childhood was filled with misery and hardships, but the brave girl never wallowed in self-pity, and instead transformed her destiny through sheer determination, grit and hard work.

In 2004, a chance meeting with Lobsang Jamyang, a Tibetan refugee living in Mcleodganj, completely changed the course of Pinki’s life as the Buddhist monk, who headed the Tong-Len Charitable Trust in Dharamshala, offered to fund her education at the Dayanand Public School in Dharamshala.

At first, her  father, Kashmiri Lal, was not convinced by the monk’s generous offer, but Jamyang finally persuaded him and enrolled Pinki at the school where she became one of the first students to live in the trust’s hostel for destitute children.

How Pinki Haryan became a doctor?

Pinki Haryan excelled in her studies and displayed extraordinary academic prowess, and after completing her class 12 exams, she cracked the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) medical entrance test but could not secure a high enough rank to ensure a seat in a government medical college.

Unable to pay the exorbitant fees demanded by private medical colleges, it seemed that reality had ultimately caught up and crushed Pinki’s dreams. However, once again, the Tong-Len Charitable Trust once again came to her rescue, with the organisation’s UK chapter helping her secure admission in a renowned medical college in China in 2018.

Now, more than six years later, after earning a MBBS degree from a Chinese college, Pinki Haryan has returned to Dharamshala, and is preparing for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) to obtain a medical license which is required to practice medicine in India.

What Lobsang Jamyang said about Pinki’s success?

Lobsang Jamyang, the monk who changed Pinki’s life says she’s proud of his protege’s achievements. Jamyang, who established the Tong-Len Trust to help children from downtrodden families, said he believes that kids must be encouraged to become good human beings, and not merely taught how to make money.

The cheerful Tibetan monk’s charitable endeavor has changed the lives of hundreds of children like Pinki, who have become doctors, engineers, and government officials.

Pinki Haryan also talks fondly about Jamyang, describing the good-hearted monk as a father figure who motivated and supported her throughout her life.