Driving an Ox-Wagon is no regular Income - Our School Children

Today I would like to introduce you to a boy who started at our school in this school year. His name is Kaushal, he is eight years old and he now studies in our Upper Kindergarten, the second pre-school class.

Kaushal lives right next to Jaya and Neha, in a poor area of Vrindavan, where a lot of our children come from. His home is only two rooms: one downstairs and another one on top of the first one, but smaller. Both rooms have a little area in front of them which they use as a living room, kitchen and for whatever else can be done outside – as there is so little space inside! The room in the ground floor is the room of Kaushal’s grandfather, his father’s father. His mother, father and he himself sleep in the room above.

Kaushal’s father is an ox-wagon driver, a daily labourer. We ask his wife how much he earns and she tells us that it is approximately 5 US-Dollar a day. So does that make 150 US-Dollar in a month? She starts laughing, as if that’s a good joke: no, he doesn’t get work every day! By far not – the past two weeks he was just sitting around at home! Sometimes he gets work, sometimes he doesn’t.

Obviously that means that there is sometimes more money and sometimes less. And it is difficult to send a child to school when you sometimes have the money to pay school fees and sometimes not! Kaushal has been to school but it was hard for the family to get the money on time. When they heard that admissions were open at our school last year, they were among the first to come – and they were lucky, we had a place for their son!

Now Kaushal enjoys learning with his classmates very much. His teacher tells that he is a very active boy whose mind works quite fast, if he pays attention.

If you would like to support children like Kaushal, you can help us with a child sponsorship or by donating the food for a day for the children! We thank you in their name!