The drudgery of hard labour breaks even the hard hearted. But look around and you can see many instances of children taking up hazardous jobs to support their families.
While majority of the parents in the city force their children to wake up early morning to prepare for the board examinations, Maniraja, a plus two student of Ilango Corporation Boys’ Higher Secondary School, wakes up on his own at 5 am every morning to distribute newspaper to 100 odd houses at Anna Nagar.
S Maniraja (15), the son of Pandi, a daily wage labourer, works as a newspaper boy in the morning hours to assist his family to pay back their debts. For Maniraja, his preparation for the board examination ends with the school hours; he spends his remaining hours (except seven hours of sleep) working in two different places to support his family.
“I wake up at 5 am and collect the newspapers from a distributor at Anna Nagar. For the next two hours I cycle around to distribute newspapers,” said Maniraja, who was found exhausted after his morning endeavour. Then he rushed to his house, finished his morning chores, before heading off to the school to reach by 8.45 am.
Even after school hours, he rushes to his house, finishes the evening snacks and races to another workplace. He spends the next four hours working in a paper cup manufacturing unit till 9 pm. Completely worn out after hours of drudgery, he falls asleep immediately after supper. “ But at heart I feel happy helping my family to overcome the financial crisis,” he said. “I earn Rs 500 a month, working as a newspaper boy and `1800 from the paper cup manufacturing unit. I give my entire earnings to my parents to pay back the loan amount of `1 lakh, which we borrowed from a bank for the construction of our house,” said Maniraja.
Pandi, his father, earns Rs 200 per day, working as a loading worker, while his mother Saraswathi, who works in a pappadum company, earns `80 per day. Their hard work has borne fruit as the family managed to pay back a debt of `3 lakh, which they borrowed from a moneylender for the construction of their house.
Though Maniraja spends only a few hours on his studies, he is very concerned about his career. “I want to become an honest police officer,” he signs off.
Maniraja is one among hundreds of students, from the weaker section of the society, studying in the Ilango Corporation Boys’ Higher Secondary School. Interestingly, the teaching community of the school is extending a helping hand for such underprivileged students.
For instance, Chitra, the assistant headmistress of the school had provided accommodation for a student while he was preparing for the Class X Board examination.
While Sheik Nasiruddin stayed at her house, Chitra helped him to prepare for the examination. “As we are eight in our family and living in a small house, I requested Chitra madam to provide me accommodation before the examination. She not only provided the space, but also helped me score 451 marks in the Board examination,” said Sheik Nasiruddin, who earns `120 per day, working as a part-time employee in a textile shop.
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