Stories

Anisha’s mother died when she was 3 months old. Soon after her father left the family. Anu has since been devotedly brought up by her maternal Aunt and fondly calls her “Mommy”. However, her aunt is to get married soon and she is worried if her future in-laws will accept her. Anu needs to complete her education to be able to earn a living for herself.

Ekta is a bright and confident 10-year old child who only experienced motherly love for 3 years before her mother left the family and disappeared without any information. Her father is visually impaired and hardly earns anything. Ekta and her little brother are being brought up by her uncle and aunt, who also have two daughters, all of them living with the grand-parents. They try their best to care for the four children in the best of their abilities but Ekta’s uncle only earns Rs. 12,000 per month (approximately US$180), a small amount for a family of 8 members.

Princy’s father is no more . Her illiterate mother is unemployed and is raising 3 daughters. Even though she owns her own house, they have to survive with only Rs 3000 (USD 50) a month that she receives as pension. Hardships have made Princy’s mother a little mentally unstable.

Shivani's Parents are from Bihar. Her mother was only 16 years old when she was born. Her father left them 2 years ago, when her mother was expecting her sister. He was a drug addict and had behavioral problems. They have not heard from him since. Her mother works a weaver in factory and earns Rs. 7,500 (USD 125) a month. They live with the grand parents but shivani’s mother pays a rent to her own parents.

Khushpreet father is a tabla player in a local gurudwara (Sikh Temple). He earns Rs. 3,000 (USD 50) a month for four hours a day of playing the instrument. Her mother is a housewife. She is educated but she has to look after her brother who is suffering from a brain tumor and cannot attend school anymore. Medical expenses are extremely hard to cope up with even with the help of donation from the gurudwara. They lodge in the gurudwara in one single room and their foods sometimes comes from the common kitchen in the gurudwara where food is served to all visitors as common meal (langer).