“For children living and working on the streets, the major challenges are the fear of kidnapping, not having proper arrangements for shelter during the monsoon season because roofs start dripping, and also if we want to go from place to place, then we have to cross railway tracks which are very dangerous for every child and adult.” Ekram
Ekram is the youngest of three siblings and lives with his parents in a roadside slum in Delhi. They moved from their rural village early in 2022 and though they’ve barely settled in and Ekram is just 10 years old, he’s already working as a masseuse for an elderly person in a rich neighbourhood not far from his home. Each day, he works for two hours each evening, massaging the elder’s feet and legs, getting paid 1000 rupees (approx.. £10.50) each month for his work.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for him to meet one of CHETNA’s street outreach workers, who are Toybox’s partner organisation in India. Before long, Ekram was receiving support from them and attending project activities to ensure that he was able to grow up with the best opportunities possible. Here he tells us more about his life since he arrived in Delhi.
“I came to Delhi with my mother earlier this year. I make a living by helping my mother with the household work where she works as a cleaner and I recently started working as an oil massager for an old person nearby.
I’m not enrolled in school in Delhi yet, but in my village, I studied until Class 3 – I don’t have my Aadhar card to enrol here yet and without my proper documents it’s impossible. I’d like to change the admission process for school to help children go with less challenges in the way."
“When we first got to Delhi, I tried to educate myself at home but it wasn’t helping me that much. I often felt bored there on my own.” Ekram
“Now though, I attend CHETNA activities, and my life has changed for the better. Now I can do all the things which I thought I wouldn’t be able to do. I’m able to read the Hindi alphabet and I learned about the qualities of a leader, child rights and how to maintain my cleanliness and personal hygiene.” Ekram
The start of something new
"At the project I receive good support from my teachers. They help me in my studies and let us do writing, painting, drawing, reading, Maths counting to 100 and they have provided stationery like notebooks, pens and pencils. My favourite thing I’ve learned is my Maths counting and the four types of child rights, the Right to Life, the Right to Protection, the Right to Development and the Right to Participation.
We also get given food at the project too. I get the opportunity to eat a different variety of food at the CHETNA centre. I used to make food at home, but after receiving meals at the centre, I have less of a burden for that now. Before, my mother gave me money and I’d go to the grocery store or vegetable shop to buy a potato, an onion, okra and sometimes some dal and milk, but when I didn’t have money, I used to get food from my aunt until she stopped helping me. Sometimes my friend’s dad would give me food too. My favourite food of all time is chicken rice, biryani and roti with onion. If I was the leader of my community, I’d talk to other politicians to assure a one-time meal for all the poor and vulnerable children every day.
Going to the CHETNA centre every day is the most important thing in my life right now because I consistently get good food and I am getting my school education to be able to achieve my goals and live a good life.”
