Aug 08 2011, Ludhiana: Congratulatory messages have been continuously pouring in for Manreet Kaur and with good reason. The twenty five year old from Halwara, a village situated some 25 kilometres from Ludhiana, has become the youngest and the first woman from Punjab to work with the United Nations under its volunteer program. A post graduate in Computer Applications, Manreet has been posted to East Timor and will join duty on August 15.
“I had applied for this job some five months back. After the rounds of interviews, I was selected and now have been asked to join the Information and Communication Technology Department,” says an excited Manreet.
Hailing from an agriculture family the young girl says, “ My father is a farmer by profession and I am the youngest in the family. My elder sister holds a doctorate in Biochemistry and teaches at the Government Medical College in Amritsar. From my family I am the first person to get this kind of job”.
Any pressure for marriage, and Manreet laughs. “ These things keep happening. My job for now is for one year and as per practice the contract gets renewed each year. I am very serious about my job and plan to make it as my career but at the same time I have a family and parents to think about so I will let things happen as they unfold .”