Farmhouses

Today we visited the farmhouse of a fourth grader named Chaman. One year ago his father was delivering milk and got into a horrific bike accident. His father then went into a coma and it took him several months to be able to talk, and eventually move his body. For a while he didn’t even remember his own kids. After the accident, Ruhi took on more of Chaman’s siblings. Chaman’s father now recognizes his children and can talk a bit. He insisted on getting up to greet us but he was struggling a lot. Chaman, his three brothers, and his father live in a small room and take care of a farmhouse property. He was so excited to show us his house he even showed us his cows and picked guavas and lemons for us. It took us twenty minutes to drive to the farmhouse so I can’t even i imagine how long it takes him to walk to school. We were told that Chaman often doesn’t get any food. His home is barely big enough for his father who always has to be lying down. I have no idea where he and the rest of his siblings sleep, or whether he even has a mother.

We also visited the farmhouse of a kindergarden student named Neha. Whereas Chaman’s family takes care of farm property, Neha’s family works the field. Neha has four sisters and one brother. The oldest sister is fourteen, she takes care of her siblings while her parents are out working in the field. She is in charge of feeding her family, cooking the food, cleaning up, milking the cow, and attending to her sibling’s needs which includes her little brother who is still an infant. The eight family members live in a small hut made of wood planks right on their farm. Most of the homes in the village have at least some sort of concrete structure, but Neha’s home was constructed entirely by her family. When it rains I don’t know what happens to their home. The floor is just mud so rain would completely damage it. What really hit me hard, however, is that the oldest sister is my age and is practically raising her siblings on her own. She has never been to school, and rarley leaves the farm. It just really puts things in perspective for me and reminds me how privileged I truly am.

Seeing the kids homes helped me understand some of their lives better, but I’m still left with so many questions. How do Chaman and his family get food? How can Neha’s father be working the field all day when he doesn’t even have shoes? How do Chaman and his brother walk to school every day? But my main remaining question is, how is all of this okay? How is it okay that Chaman and his four brothers have to cram into a tiny, dusty room to sleep? How is it okay that a fourteen year old girl is raising her family and cannot attend school? And how is it okay that, after suffering an aweful bike accident, Chaman’s father can’t get anything to eat? I don’t know the answers to these questions, and so many more, but I am comited to learning more about the world around me in order to find out.