A Smile in the Middle of Poverty - Our School Children

Today I want to introduce you to Mamta, a girl who has not lost her smile even though her family seems to be facing the hardest time since she was born.

Mamta is thirteen years old. She has two sisters and two brothers, herself being the third child, right in the middle. Her elder sister is already married and lives with her in-laws. Her elder brother is seventeen years old and was not at home when we visited her – he was at work.

Mamta’s mother told us that the family had moved from Firozabad to Vrindavan two years ago. Firozabad is a bigger city which is famous for its intricate and beautiful glass work. Craftsmen of that town make the most beautiful decorative pieces of glass, adorn furniture and create jewelry. The item the most popular of this town is however the bangle. Glass bangles are often from Firozabad and Mamta’s father had joined the business of selling these. In Firozabad, so he thought, business was not going well because there were just too many salesmen like him, all selling the same item. When it became difficult for him to generate enough income to feed his family, he made a bold step: he just shifted to Vrindavan with his wife, his children and a big carton full of glass bangles from Firozabad.

For the first year it seemed to have been a good decision. He had bought a wooden cart and was pushing it through the streets, the bangles on display. Especially on big pilgrimage days, he could make enough money to pay the rent for the two rooms they were living in and the basic necessities.

At some point however, it just didn’t bring in enough money anymore. The bangle business didn’t work for Mamta’s father and soon the family was in a financial crisis. They had to leave their home and moved from into a smaller room. Mamta’s older brother took up a job as a labour. Still today, the family can only survive because of his income. Their father simply does not really bring any money home anymore, not even after changing the business and selling fruit instead of bangles. They hope they will be able to stay living in the small room that all six are living in now. The mother seems distressed about their situation but finds herself helpless, having a small boy of four years to take care of and two girls of seven and thirteen years on top of it!

Through all of this however, you can see a big smile on Mamta’s face. She knows about the hardships of her family, she helps her mother as much as she can, by cleaning the home or taking care of her younger brother, but she still finds reasons to laugh. ‘I like going to school!’ she says, telling us about her many friends and the fun that they have together.

For one year she has been to our school and she has learnt a lot. It was not always easy for her – especially in Mathematics she needs to take care to keep up with what the teachers want them to learn – but she is improving and learning. And the best part of it: there is no extra cost for the family.

This is the reason why Mamta’s mother asked us to take Mamta’s younger sister Sadhana, too. The school started one month ago already and admissions have long been completed but we promised we would talk to the teachers and make it possible for Sadhana to go to school, too. On Monday will be her first class.

Would you like to help us supporting families like Mamta’s? You can! Sponsor a child or the food for a day or simply make a donation of any amount to help us help these children!