In recent days, we have come across incidents where once teachers were now seen begging or working as daily-wage labourers to obtain money and food. In a similar yet saddening case, a woman named Merlin caught the attention of internet users as a Chennai-based content creator brought her life story to the fore.
Mohamed Ashik meets Merlin
Identified as Mohamed Ashik, a 25-year-old influencer from Chennai, met Merlin on the city streets (Adyar area) while she was extending her hands to beg. Ashik decided to strike up a conversation with her and learn her story of life and the struggles she was going through.
A conversation that will melt your heart ...
Talking to him, Merlin spoke in English and revealed that she was from Burma and had been a teacher for subjects like English, Math, and Tamil. However, after marriage, she visited India and circumstances made her never leave the country. She expressed that she married an Indian man in a church who passed away along with close relatives, making the 81-year-old face life alone. "We came here, later all of them died! So I have to eat for myself. I must fill my stomach, right? I just beg," she says in a reply that will melt one's heart.
Influencer creates 'English With Merlin' on Instagram
The video of their conversation was shared online, followed by Ashik creating an Instagram page to support the woman and respect her as a teacher. He requested people to follow 'English With Merlin' on Instagram to empower her and make her quit begging for money and satisfy her needs.
81-year-old Merlin back as an English teacher
Now, Merlin is seen educating viewers on the platform with basic English lessons. She narrates classic stories in the language and also shares easy and necessary greetings and conversational sentences in her informative reels. The page has received love and support from several people and it enjoys more than 500K followers already since being created earlier this September.
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