“None of my children could enrol in school because none of us has any identity proof from Delhi. This is why they aren’t studying now.” Atum, mother
Young brothers, Amaan, 12, and Zeeshan, 10, were born in Nepal and have spent most of their lives so far in a town not too far from the India border. Their mother, Atum, is originally from the Bihar state of India, but moved to Nepal when she married their father when she was just a child. Not long after they were married, Amaan was born and the family began to grow as he was followed by Zeeshan and two younger siblings who are now 7 and 4 years old.
Looking after the family was a challenge at times – Atum worked as a thread cutter in a footwear factory while her husband earned a little money as a worker in a bag factory. Before long, Amaan and Zeeshan’s father started to struggle more with an ongoing health issue and Atum made the decision to move her family back to her home country of India so that he could get the healthcare he needed.
The six of them moved in with Atum’s brother, who was already living in Delhi working at a steel factory. Delhi seemed to offer the most opportunities to earn enough money to support the family, but it soon became clear that although they were earning over ten times as much as they were in Nepal, getting access to some of their most basic needs wouldn’t be easy. Back in Nepal, Amaan and Zeeshan had been attending school, but when they arrived in Delhi, it was impossible to enrol them in school because they only had their Nepali documents – not Indian ones which are vital for enrolment.
Despite their extra income, life in Delhi was more expensive and the family just about managed to cover the day to day living costs of things like food and rent once they moved out of Atum’s brother’s house. This meant that saving up to cover costs for identity documents was virtually impossible. Even finding someone to help was made more difficult because it’s not uncommon for people to charge excessive amounts to guide others through the processes. Amaan and Zeeshan’s hopes of going to school seemed to dwindle even further.
However, just when Atum had almost lost hope for her children’s education, Amaan and Zeeshan were invited to start attending the education centre run by CHETNA, Toybox’s partner in India, back in March 2022.
“When I’m older, I want to join the army and have my own house.” Amaan
Now, every day, the boys do shifts to take part in CHETNA’s programme of activities, with Zeeshan coming to the education centre in the morning and Amaan coming in the afternoon so they can balance looking after their younger siblings while their parents are at work. They also work it around the chores they do around the house to help out, including fetching water in the morning and evening, cleaning and making dinner. They’re also receiving support from CHETNA to finalise their ID cards which will allow them to access formal education through school in India, as well as other rights for their futures.
“In the future, I want to be a police officer. I always want to wear new clothes and build my own house. I’ve also never been for any outings so I really want to visit the Red Fort.” Zeeshan
