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The average monthly wage from one house for a housemaid is Rs. 150. She normally works 10 houses to earn Rs. 1500. That is just below $31, $1 a day. She takes most of this home, if she is lucky to have a non-drinking, working husband, which is not the case for the majority of these maids. The husband usually drinks the money he earned as a daily labourer and most of the time, pesters and beats his wife for more drinking money.
The average maid cannot send her children to school with this money. It is worse if the child is a girl, she too will be made to work along with the mother. Some girls are fortunate enough to go to school but they have to work for it, in the mornings and evenings, when she should be getting ready for school and playing with her friends and doing her homework. The most common reason cited for not sending their children to school is this, lack of money. The children of maids go usually to the state-run school, where tuition is little and transportation is taken care by the state. They need money for uniforms and books, and even that little tuition has to be paid.
Most of the times, they are not sent to school. Girls go in as maids and babysitters for someone just 3 or 4 years younger than her. Boys are sent to workshops or restaurants to wash plates. Most of the times, they are assaulted by the shop owner himself or other older boys. They also pick up many bad habits like smoking, sniffing glue, etc.
Even $1 can make a difference to a kid, a square meal or books for this term or uniform for this year. That means going to school, not working as maids or in a workshop, and no beatings from the owner or the older boys. This also means some kind of future is ensured to the kid.
Just click on the 'Make a donation' button below and donate as much as you wish. A few dollars or a hundred rupees might not even a scratch in your wallet, but it makes a huge difference for these kids.
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