THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When
Jeni Jerome
once asked her father if she could take the four wheel drive
Nissan
Patrol to her college, Jerome was slightly hesitant. He told her wouldn’t it be safer to drive if all of them were together. She smiled and said, “I fly an aeroplane, don’t you think I can drive an SUV alone?” Jerome needed no more confidence booster and she took the car to college.
Aday after their 23-year-old daughter flew her
maiden flight
from
Sharjah
to Thiruvananthapuram, Jerome and Beatrice were pleased to have her back at home. The couple who are natives of
Kochuthura
have been living in UAE for the past two decades with Jeni and brother Jeby.
Jeni Jerome
“We all prayed silently in our minds for her. It was a smooth and safe flight. It has been her dream ever since she would peer out of the window of Thiruvananthapuram airport at flights landing when we waited for the return journey,” Jerome told TOI from his office in the UAE.
During her convocation ceremony after Class XII, it was Jerome who accompanied Jeni to school. All of them stood together discussing about their future plans. When Jeni said she wanted to be a pilot, one of the parents wondered “Are you sure?” Jerome was quick to dispel the doubts. “I told them, what’s wrong with that? If she thinks she can be a pilot, let her do it,” Jerome recounted.
The training period was a real test for Jeni. Jeni had once broken down over the phone following a crash landing during her training in
Philippines
. It was a single engine and when it failed they crash landed on a marshy land.
“She rang us up and started crying over the phone. But in a matter of few days, she pulled herself together and she was ready for another flight,” Jerome said.
Jerome and his friends were in the middle of packing medical equipment and contribution to
Kerala when Jeni called him to say her first flight was scheduled to Thiruvananthapuram.
“I was so happy to hear about it. Initially, it was scheduled to Armenia. I told my friends and they shared it on social media,” said Jerome who completed his ITI training at
Mariyapuram
before leaving for the UAE
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