Jaya

For most of her thirteen years of life, Jaya has officially existed thanks to her Aadhar card, or identity card. For many street children coming from low-income families in India, this is uncommon in itself. But when her family moved from a village in the rural Bihar district of the country to a community by the busy railway tracks in Delhi in search of better work opportunities to pay off debts accumulated when her father broke both of his legs, Jaya’s Aadhar card became useless as the address on it was too far away to qualify her to join school in the capital.

Jaya is the youngest of her four siblings and her mother is keen for her to do well in life. She believes this starts with education so she frequently visited the school nearby but they wouldn’t enrol Jaya because the Aadhar card had her village address on it. Thankfully, her mother met a worker from CHETNA who told her she needed to update the information on the card and explained the process she needed to follow to make it happen.

Here, Jaya tells us how not having valid identity documents has impacted her life, in her own words, and about how her life has changed as a result.

“I moved to Delhi along with my family two and a half years ago because of a lockdown and the heavy amount of debt after my father got fractures in both of his legs. When we got here, I couldn’t go to school so I used to do household chores like cleaning, cooking, and fetching water as well as assisting my mother, who works as a domestic helper.

Normally, I would wake up at 7am and go to collect water, which could take 1 and a half hours because of the huge crowd for water. Back at home, I would cook for my family and wash the dishes before going to the Learning Centre run by CHETNA. At 4pm, I would go to help my mother with her work as a domestic cleaner before heading home to study some more and have dinner before bed. I used to go to school in my village but I couldn’t go when we moved here. Somehow, we managed to pay the rent on our home, buy basic necessities and pay off bits of the debt."

“In my neighbourhood, there’s a boy who doesn’t go to school but I advised him to enrol and attend classes so that he can go ahead in his life.” Jaya

"The teachers of CHETNA helped me in the entire admission process for school, from arranging enrolment to ensuring we had the required documents for admission like my parents’ Aadhard cards and proof of address. The challenge was that my landlord refused to sign the electricity bill which we needed to prove our address. But, because of the efforts from CHETNA, we managed to get it and they completed my admission to school.

School is very important because it will help me to excel in life. I want to improve the quality of my education and I feel good that I’m finally in school again. I enjoy drawing and learning to dance – I know how to practise now. I also like to do the prayer sessions and studying Hindi and Sanskrit.

Here at CHETNA, they provide free education and I feel good when I see my teachers. Now I don’t feel any problems while studying. They helped me in getting my Aadhar card and in completing the procedure for my school admission. I get food every day too. My life has changed a lot since coming to the project. Before I was unable to draw, read and write, but gradually, now I can. I love talking to other children and playing with them too. My teachers at CHETNA are my role models because they teach us to make our lives better."

“For the last two and a half years, I have been on the streets but now I’m going to study to move forward in life. I want to score good marks and excel in my studies to become a working woman. My ultimate goal is to become a doctor.” Jaya

Now Jaya has her Aadhar card and school admission approved, she will begin school later this year with the new term.

“If I were the Prime Minister, I would make better homes for people and make shelter homes for animals like cows. I would also help street children to stay in our homes so that they won’t stay on roads.”