Orphanage connects slum boy with British royals

He was the royal footman who helped post the birth notice of Prince George.

(Photo Courtesy: Getty Images)

United Kingdom:  Is there a connection between a Muslim boy in a Kolkata slum, the newborn heir to the British Throne and Kolkata's St Mary’s Orphanage?

The Muslim boy Badar Azim, now 25, connected the other two. Badar, who grew up in the St Mary’s Orphanage and Day School run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in Kolkata was the royal footman who helped post the notice of Prince George's birth.

It was a mere twist of fate that, he happened to be on duty at the Privy Purse door after the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to the third in line to the Throne.

Badar’s father Mohammed Rahim, a 52-year-old welder, was barely able to afford to put food on the table. But he valued the importance of education and scrimped and saved to send Badar to school.

After struggling at a public school in the city, Badar was taken in by the charitable St Mary’s Orphanage and Day School. Run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers of Ireland, it aims to help the destitute, homeless and underprivileged. Badar thrived in his new environment.

The orphanage later sponsored Badar to go to the International Institute of Hotel Management College in Calcutta, where he embarked on a degree in hospitality management.

Sanjukta Bose, the director of the college, recalls an eager and diligent student. ‘He was a decent boy who never created any problems,’ she said.

"He was well-mannered and a good communicator. He was also punctual, well-groomed and decent, which is essential for roles in hotel management."

After completing his first two years at the Institute, the orphanage raised another �10,000 to fly Badar to Scotland, where he completed his degree at Edinburgh’s Napier University.

He graduated on June 15, 2011, and landed a job as a junior footman at Buckingham Palace in February the following year.

"The conditions I live in now are so different from how I lived in India," he said.

"The orphanage literally helps transform the lives of hundreds of children each year. The charity enabled me to come to Edinburgh and complete my studies – something others in India can only dream of.

"If I hadn’t gone to St Mary’s, I would be working somewhere on the streets of Calcutta. It would have been very difficult to get a job in India because unless you have a good degree, you will not get a good job and a good salary."

Pauline Gordon, a lecturer at Edinburgh’s Napier University, who leads the India Partnership – a scheme to bring disadvantaged children from the subcontinent to Britain – said: ‘Badar is the sweetest of boys I have met.

"He used to call me Ma’am but I told him to call me Pauline so now he calls me Pauline Ma’am – and I am only his teacher.

"He loves working at Buckingham Palace. He has been there for 18 months and has met the Queen.

At the moment, he is trying to extend his visa, which expires in October.

Source: dailymail.co.uk