Seethathodu: P M Maneesha, a house surgeon belonging to the tribal community, wants to serve the residents of her native panchayat. It was after clearing several steep hurdles that she enrolled for the MBBS course at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College and later cleared her exams.
Hailing from an impoverished tribal family, she now wants to give back to her community the love, affection and support it had extended to her since early days in school. The first student from the tribal community to become a doctor in the panchayat, Maneesha is confident that she will realize her wish soon.
Though her initial ambition was to become a nurse, the backing from relatives and aid from the scheduled tribe department helped her launch a career as doctor.
Maneesha is the younger child of Plankoottathil Muraleedharan and Rajani of Pambini tribal colony in Chittar. Her early studies were at Chittar Koothattukulam Govt. LP School. From class 5 to 10, she studied at Punnapara MRS in Alappuzha. Her plus-one and plus-two education was at Kattela MRS.
Coaching at Brilliant, Pala enabled her to crack the medical entrance exam and secure an MBBS seat under scheduled tribe quota. Last month, Maneesha cleared her MBBS final exams creditably and started her house surgeoncy.
When a little girl, Maneesha dreamed of becoming a doctor some day while passing near Chittar government hospital. However, the income of her father, a farmer, and mother, a worker under the employment guarantee scheme, was barely enough to meet daily needs.
Maneesha’s parents say the support extended by Vinod, who was the tribal development officer at scheduled tribe department in Ranni helped their daughter achieve her dream. While doing MBBS, her classmates and teachers extended a helping hand by bringing her the books needed to master the lessons.
The next goal Maneesha has set for herself is post-graduation. However, though financial difficulties are staring at her again, she is planning to work to earn enough to pursue her PG course. Maneesha is also hopeful that some well-wisher would step in to help her.
The Congress workers in the area recently organized a function to felicitate Maneesha which was attended by former chief minister Oommen Chandy, among others.
Maneesha’s brother Mithun, meanwhile, is undergoing coaching for PSC exams.
Read: Pathanamthitta News | Kerala News