My Story: "I Worked For 16 Hours A Day And Earned A Meagre Amount Of Rs 50 Daily"

If I can go back to my village, I would make it a child-friendly place for other children. I would never want anyone else to experience what I have been through. I belong to a poor family. My mother passed away recently because of cancer. There have been so many times that we have had to sleep hungry at night for food shortage.

My father works as a labourer in a factory and earns only ₹6000 every month. The rest of us live here in Bihar. Due to extreme poverty, we fell into the hands of those who showed us the dreams that we thought only the rich could have.

The Owner Would Lie To My Parents That I Was Happy

Since we were anyway not on a solid financial footing, the promises of going to school and getting three meals a day seemed like a blessing. My parents sent me off with my uncle on the pretext that he would enrol me into a good school and teach me a skill to provide for my family in the future. However, the reality is the exact opposite of dreams. I was put in as a worker in a zari (embroidery) factory and was forced to work for over 16 hours on regular days. The remuneration was just ₹ 50 in a week for so much work.

I would get a chappati, or sometimes stale rice, eat, and breakfast was a rarity. The employer used to beat me every time I made a mistake. Once I had fever because of the sores I had developed on my face and mouth. I could not even sit and fell asleep at work; when the employer saw me, he tried to attack me with scissors. My uncle was the factory owner, and whenever my parents called to ask for me, he would lie to them that I am studying and happily staying with him.

When a BBA activist rescued me, I was so scared because I thought that they are now taking me to some other place. It was after I saw my parents that I calmed down and felt safe. After that, I was admitted to informal education in Bal Ashram which is located in Viratnagar Rajasthan in class 4, and I scored first division in it. In the Bal Ashram, I took up singing as a hobby and eventually learnt to play instruments like Harmonium, Synthesizer and practised classical music. Mata (Sumedha Kailash ) taught me classical music. I have even performed at events and have won several awards for that. Life took a positive turn in the Bal Ashram, and I scored 81 per cent in class 10 and 67 per cent in Class 12. Further, I want to study nursing in college.

When I was in the Zari factory, I never thought life would take such a turn. I still have nightmares about the employer beating me up. This childhood trauma makes me want to do well in life to prevent other children from becoming prey to such evils.

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