The Chengam Sisters!

This is the real story of the travails of a mother with three daughters in a remote village in Tiruvannamalai, after the death of the bread-winner, to Covid. Names have been changed and faces have been masked to protect child rights

Chandira lost her husband Sankar, a driver, to Covid. He was earning Rs 9000 per month. Life turned topsy-turvy overnight for young widow Chandira with three daughters – Praveena, Varsha and Dhivya. She had to battle against all odds – social stigma, discrimination, fear and uncertainty, in a remote village in Chengam, Tiruvannamalai. It became worse, especially when the villagers wrote her off and said that the family is doomed with the curse of three daughters. Chandira began to work as an agricultural labourer plucking flowers, to make a living. She approached relatives and village elders to pay the school fees. When there was no help forthcoming, she moved the daughters from a private school in the vicinity to far-off Government schools, as the she could not afford to pay the school fees. This was in May 2022, when the social worker met the family and decided to enroll them in Kinship Care.

Since the children were in Government schools, they were added to the English reading programme, Happy Reading. The volunteer for Happy Reading was quick to identify that the children were bright, fast-learners and needed a good opportunity to thrive. Classes started with teaching spellings, correct pronunciation, use of dictionary, Maths and general knowledge. Soon the volunteer became a trusted elder for the mother as well as the children. Many a time, when in crisis or unable to take the right decision, the mother reached out to him to find a solution to her problem. The children also absorbed every learning opportunity and attended classes regularly. The girls adapted quickly to use the Tab which was given them to understand Mathematical concepts and practise sums.

With the growing bond, steady support from Kinship Care, and assurance that children will be supported over the long-term; the mother revived her dream of seeing her daughters back in the private school for good quality education. Subash, escorted mother Chandira to pay the fees and reinstate the children to Shree Nivedha Matriculation School, Chengam; where the children were studying earlier. Today the children are topping their classes, are more confident and raring to go! The Chengam sisters are change makers in the backward village with their striving to march forward. The children aspire to become a nurse, a teacher and a policewoman! The eldest daughter Praveena is thinking of earning as early as she can to support her siblings and uplift the family, through her education. If this is not a story of social change and upliftment, what else is?