Its all work and no play for these girls

CHENNAI: Alamelu (14) and Karpagavalli (16) who live in the Choolaimedu slum, have lost their childhood as they have taken up the responsibility of feeding their families by working as domestic workers. The bright spot here: they continue their schooling despite all odds, kudos to their determination to study. But they also have their worries to deal with. How long will they be able to hold on?Alamelu started working when she was 11 years old, given the situation of her family — a drunkard father and a sick mother. She said, “The little money I earn is very important to meet the food needs of my family. I have a younger brother, and my father due to his drunkenness has incurred a lot of debt, and my mother is sick now and then. I have very little choice but to take up work to support my family.”She wakes up at 4.30 am every day, and finishes work in three houses before she gets into her uniform and rushes to Shankarapuram Chennai School, Choolaimedu, where she studies in Class 9. In the evening, she comes back and rushes to wash vessels and clothes in two other houses. Coming back home around 6.30 pm for half an hour, she studies and then gets busy cooking meals for her family. Working in all the five houses, she earns a paltry sum of  `1,300 a month, which reeks of exploitation.Alamelu said, “Nobody even offers me coffee. I have to be on time. If I am late some days, they will shout for that. Sometimes, I tell them I have to study for exams, even then they insist I should come for work.”She added, “Sometimes, I am very worried, how long will I be able to continue my studies given all this hard work. But I want to study somehow. Every passing day, my mother is falling very ill. And the drunken fights of my father keeps us wake  beyond 12  in the night most days.”Karpagavalli, who also lives in Choolaimedu slum, started working from the tender age of 10 to support her father who is blind and a sister who is hearing and speech impaired. She is in Class 10 at the Garodia Government Girls Higher Secondary School. She dreams of becoming a collector someday.Karpagavalli said, “There are many more such young girls living in the slums of Chennai, who are working to support their families. I hope someday things will become better for us.”