9-yr-old flower seller face of child labor
Khushi selling flowers near Kalkaji Temple in New Delhi
By RASHMI GUPTA
NEW DELHI: Nine-year oldKhushi stays in Delhi’s Govindpuri and sells flowers near the Kalkaji temple. She is one of the many faces of child labour that populate Delhi . Talking about her work, she said, “I work hard so that we can have a meal a day.” She wakes up at 5 am and helps her mother in household work and then she leaves the house for the temple taking the bunch of flowers.
She shared how her life has changed in the past three years. “When I was three years old my father died due to cancer. That’s why I started working at such a young age. We are two members in my family. My mother works in brick factory.”
She talked about the challenges she faced during her work, “I would get ill or not feel good while working and wanted to sleep. But I couldn’t sleep. If I would sleep during this business time, so we will not have food.”
She further said, “I don’t blame anyone for this because poverty brings us to the situation that we never want to face.” She also said that lockdown has been the toughest phase for her and her mother as due to the pandemic they were not having even single meal of the day.
Her mother borrowed some money from others for surviving the pandemic and now as things are getting normal she is working hard to pay back the borrowed money. “Together we earn Rs 3,000 in a month and we spend it on our basic needs.” She also talked about how she controlled her emotions, and she wishes to study. “Child labour has been a curse to my childhood,” she said.
The story first appeared in The Times of Bennett, the lab newspaper produced by the first semester students of The Times School of Media.
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NEW DELHI: Nine-year old
She shared how her life has changed in the past three years. “When I was three years old my father died due to cancer. That’s why I started working at such a young age. We are two members in my family. My mother works in brick factory.”
She talked about the challenges she faced during her work, “I would get ill or not feel good while working and wanted to sleep. But I couldn’t sleep. If I would sleep during this business time, so we will not have food.”
She further said, “I don’t blame anyone for this because poverty brings us to the situation that we never want to face.” She also said that lockdown has been the toughest phase for her and her mother as due to the pandemic they were not having even single meal of the day.
Her mother borrowed some money from others for surviving the pandemic and now as things are getting normal she is working hard to pay back the borrowed money. “Together we earn Rs 3,000 in a month and we spend it on our basic needs.” She also talked about how she controlled her emotions, and she wishes to study. “Child labour has been a curse to my childhood,” she said.
The story first appeared in The Times of Bennett, the lab newspaper produced by the first semester students of The Times School of Media.
Join exciting programmes offered by Bennett University
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