Merlin, an 81-year-old former teacher from Myanmar, found herself begging on the streets of Chennai, India. Content creator Mohamed Ashik stepped in, helping her settle in an old age home and launching her Instagram account, @englishwithmerlin.
In a heartwarming tale of compassion and resilience, an elderly woman who had once been a teacher in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and later moved to Chennai, India following her marriage, has transformed her life from destitution to Instagram stardom, all thanks to the efforts of a content creator.
Mohamed Ashik, a 25-year-old content creator, stumbled upon the elderly woman living a life of destitution and begging on the streets. Moved by her plight, he shared her poignant story on his Instagram account, which goes by the handle @abrokecollegekid.
But Ashik's compassion didn't stop at just sharing her story. He took it upon himself to help the elderly woman, whose name is Merlin and who revealed she is 81 years old. Merlin hails from Rangoon, Burma, the former name of both the city and the country, which is now known as Yangon.
Merlin recounted her journey to Chennai, explaining, "Because my husband is from India. I had a church wedding, and he brought me here to live with his family. But unfortunately, everyone passed away, leaving just me." She went on to describe how she had resorted to begging to feed herself.
Merlin shared memories of her life in Burma, where she had been a teacher and provided private tuition in English and Math to children. Touched by her story, Ashik asked if there was anything he could do to assist her, to which Merlin humbly replied, "Nothing, my son. Just a saree, a blouse, and a skirt, that's all."
Ashik's response was swift and heartening. He presented Merlin with the requested clothing items and made it clear that he wanted to help her break free from the cycle of begging. He proposed the idea of creating English tutorial videos on Instagram, with the promise of payment for each video produced.
Merlin's Instagram account, which she named @englishwithmerlin, swiftly gained an impressive following of 567,000 users. What's more, Merlin has now been relocated to an old age home, providing her with a safer and more comfortable environment in her golden years.
The heartwarming story drew an outpouring of support and praise on social media platforms, with users commenting, "Mashallah… what a beautiful outcome... this is how the internet should be used," and "If we use social media in the correct way, this is the result—the power of social media." It serves as a testament to the positive impact of social media when used for acts of kindness and assistance.
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 "Elderly homeless woman in Chennai amasses over 500,000 Instagram followers in just four days, here's why")
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