I’m Akshay, and I belong to the Valmiki caste, a Dalit caste whose traditional occupation involves sanitation work, such as sweeping, cleaning toilets, and handling waste. I come from Tikri village, Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh. My parents did sanitation work in Tikri village, including sweeping and organising waste. Years of getting exposed to piled up rotting waste have caused both my parents severe illnesses. As a result, both of them passed away 7 years ago due to lack of money and proper health care in the village. I studied till 8th class in the Government school at Tikri. I came to Delhi and found a job as a contractual sanitation worker at Ambedkar University, Kashmere Gate in 2017. All my meagre earnings get exhausted in food, rent for a small shanty room, travel expenses, and in paying school fees for my two sisters who are studying 10th and 12th in the Tikri Government school in my village. Meanwhile, I also did my 12th, and B.A. program degree through distance education from the School of Open Learning, Delhi University during 2021-24.

Besides meagre salary, the contractual sanitation work that I'm currently involved in neither provides job security nor offers long term security benefits like health insurance or retirement plan, which means the continuation of the caste occupation over the generations. I’ve always been told by my parents and community the importance of education and how Ambedkar changed the lives of Dalits underlining the same. Hence I always made a simultaneous effort over the years to pursue education at any cost despite being forced to continue in ill-equipped sanitation work and subsist on meager wages. This year I’ve given my MBA entrance in CUET and got admitted into the very same Ambedkar University, Delhi, where I had hitherto provided sanitation duties. This MBA course I'm enrolled in gives me and my two sisters a prospect to break away from my caste slavery and generational poverty that comes with it. This MBA is a 2-year degree, and I had to pay a course fee of Rs. 37,000 for the first year. This thankfully got covered by friends and wellwishers who contributed on an emergency note as I took my admission in July. But to fully dedicate myself to the MBA course, which is a full-time, regular course, I have to leave the sanitation work and gather living expenses for the next two years of my degree. This includes my second year fees, expenses for a better rented room, food, miscellaneous, and other academic expenses. As Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar believed, the success of people like me is intrinsically linked to the success of the society. Thus, I kindly urge you all to generously contribute to my 2-year student livelihood at the Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD). Please find attached images of my admission confirmation, first year fee receipt, aadhaar card, contractual appointment letter and id card from the institution that recruited me as a sanitation worker .
The breakdown of the total amount and expenses are as follows :

Monthly expenses
Rent for Accomodation = 10,000 / month
Food = 6000 / month
Transportation = 3000 / month
Miscellaneous expenses = 3000 / month
Total - 22,000 x 24 months (2 years) = 5,28,000

MBA academic expenses
MBA Uniform+project material+stationery expenses for each year -
15,000 per year x 2 = 30,000

Second year MBA fee = 37,000

Total amount : 5,28,000+30,000+37,000 = 5,95,000