“When my husband got diagnosed with the rare and life-threatening encephalitis disease. His immune system mistakenly attacked his own brain tissues, leading to inflammation of the brain. I cried, begged, and pleaded with everyone that I knew to scramble funds for his treatment. But his situation didn’t improve even after spending everything we had. Doctors said his chance of survival was very slim, and even if he survived – he’d be forced to live the rest of his life with a severe disability. Then we lost him. I fell in and out of consciousness due to unbearable grief. Our newborn daughter was just two-month-old while the eldest was ten. How was I to feed five young daughters without my husband? My health condition wasn’t good either. Long-term, progressive rheumatoid arthritis disease causes swelling and stiffness on my right wrist and foot. Ordinary things that people take for granted, like walking, bathing, and just simply moving around are extremely challenging for me. Some days, I could not afford medications, and I would be bed-ridden for weeks, wallowing in pain. For a few months, my daughters and I survived solely on food given by other people out of pity. But I knew this couldn’t go on forever. So one morning, I forced myself out of bed, picked up a shovel, and set off to work on other people’s farms to try and eke out a living.”

“No mother wants to see her child sent away, to live in someone else’s house due to poverty. But what else could I have done? Sending my eldest daughter to live with her uncle was a tough choice to make, but it was all I could do to ensure that she receives an education. At her uncle’s home, she has been promised a place to live, food to eat and a school to go to every day – in return for looking after household chores. On her last day at home, I longed to hear her say: ‘Mother, I don’t want to go. You’re very sick and there’ll be no one to take care of you if I leave.’ She didn’t even say that she’ll miss me and her sisters. No, not a word. All she said was that she understands our situation. She’s mature beyond her years. Her three sisters have been studying at Kopila Valley School for the past few years, thanks to Maggie’s generosity. I have also admitted my youngest daughter to a local school this year. Now all my five daughters go to school. All of them now have dreams, hopes, and aspirations – something that they could not have imagined before.”