Roxy and her music factory

Her name is Rukshanna, but we call her Roxy. Roxy is just the kind of person she is. Strong, ballsy, optimistic, generous, loving Roxy runs her “music factory”, her house  that rings with the laughter of her 5 children, with the courage of a lioness. 

10 years ago when her youngest children Marina and Marwa were barely toddlers, Roxy’s husband, AR a hard working mechanic contracted a fever. With it came and abscess on his spine. The family begged and borrowed what they could to get AR the surgery he needed, but it proved ineffective. AR was left with no feeling neck-down.
After running from pillar to post to no avail, tapped out of all financial resources,  the family gave up on Doctors and the hope of AR regaining his mobility.  Roxy set- about the task of making ends meet. She takes in stitching, and both she and AR cut rubber into smaller pieces on spec for auto-work shops. They do what they can.  Her brother, a tailor, helps. Her mother a kindly matriarch of regal proportions (Roxy on steroids!) keeps a watchful eye on her, the children, the neighbourhood at large. Making rent payments on the two rooms in the dark little alley the family lives in is a challenge, but Roxy can’t move, she needs to be near her family for the help and support they provide. 

Roxy’s eldest daughter, Kainat, suffers from ankyloglossia (tongue-tied). The surgery she had for the condition was not successful. Maria her second eldest daughter is now preparing to get married. 
When we met Roxy the youngest three children were not in school. Marwa and Marina had never been – AR’s illness meant they did not have the birth certificates that would allow them to register for a school. Zubair, the only-much-put-upon-boy amongst his five sisters,  had dropped out, as the family could not meet the school fees every month.

L-O-V-E  is working to help Roxy with her sisyphean task. Birth certificates were obtained for Marwa and Marina. And they and Zubair are now in school. Roxy will soon be in training for Après-Soleil, a Boon Initiative focused on providing women with home based earning opportunities, and a full medical review will be set up for AR. L-O-V-E is providing the family with a monthly ration bag of basics and sponsoring the children’s school fees. 
Marwa is impressing her school new teachers with her razor-sharp intelligence, Zubair dreams of the laptop L-O-V-E promised him on graduating high school,  and Marina? Marina says being in school with her new glasses (that her mother could not afford before) IS her dream.

What this family lacks in resources, it makes-up for in courage and heart, and smiles that light up the Universe. With a little help from you and a little L-O-V-E, this family is taking on the world, and winning.