18-year-old Kerala girl makes friends in 43 Countries through writing letters

In today’s fast-paced world, letter writing can seem like an obsolete or quaint form of communication as it is time-consuming and also because we have other alternatives to connect with another person.

But this 18-year-old from Kerala has made several friends in over 43 countries through writing letters.

Rezbin Abba, a resident of Areekode village of Kerala’s Malappuram district had penned and received 70 letters from strangers-turned-friends in 43 countries.

Her Journey

Rezbin’s father left the family when she was young and her family went through a lot of hardships. Due to which, she would often be ridiculed or mocked by her classmates and neighbours.

She then started sharing her pictures and crafts on Instagram and interacted with several people on a daily basis which made her happy.

One day, a Mexican woman, Sarah commented on one of her posts saying, ‘I like your picture. If you give me your address, I will send you a gift soon.’

Razbin gave her address and waited for months. Finally, after a long wait, she got Sarah’s letter and a gift with it.

Later, she took efforts to connect with people living in other countries. After talking to them for a few days, she would tell them about her small hobby of exchanging letters.

She says that she took up letter writing after her desire to learn more about other countries and about their societal atmosphere.

The letters contain several different topics such as crafts, culture, climate, society, school curriculum, food and more.

Rezbin writes about Kerala, its customs, its beauty, backwaters, and everything else. She also shares her personal life stories with a few of her friends.

Maggi, a girl from Bulgaria wrote in her latest letter that she would soon visit Kerala.  Rumeysa from Turkey had revealed in her first letter that she was a cancer patient. She writes about her health and how she fights cancer in all her letters.

She receives letters from countries like the United States, Japan, Indonesia and Spain. Also, she has an enormous assortment of unique goodies, teas, and even leaves that she has collected from nations all around the world.

Rezbin also spoke at the International Model United Nations Online Conference about Mental  Health in India. Now, Rezbin says that she no longer cares about what her relatives or friends say about sharing postal addresses with strangers as long as it makes her happy.