Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

by Sana Khan

Washing, cooking, cleaning, feeding, teaching, studying… the days are packed for this PU student who has managed to shine despite working in 10 households, a bed-ridden father and a mother who was frequently falling sick during her exams. We salute you, Afshan

On Thursday Elu Afshan, a PU student, managed to fulfil a part of her mother’s dream. Her mother works as a domestic help and wants that her child never has to do the work she does. With a First Class in Commerce, Afshan has a shot at taking a path different from her mother.

This student of Government PU College goes to some of the houses for domestic work, and takes care of her father, who was bed-ridden, and two younger siblings.
“My mother is the sole bread-winner of our family. Some days she gets tired or needs help, so I join her,” Afshan said. As her mother works in about 10 houses, hardly any day goes by without Afshan having to help.

After college, she used to head to the homes her mother works at and help her. “I washed vessels, clothes and cleaned the house. Everyone at the houses too was supportive and never complained about my mother’s work. Some of the persons used to send me back as they knew my exams were nearing,” Afshan said.

But being the eldest child in her family, Afshan felt the need to take on part of the responsibilities. Her brother has just finished 10th and sister is in the 8th standard.

Another chunk of the 17-year-old’s time would go in nursing her father, who has been bed-ridden since a fall.

“My father was working as a painter, but after a fall, his knee broke and he was bed-ridden for many months. That was a distressing time for us,” Afshan said.

She worked in all the houses her mother used to work. “All of employers took care of me like their kid,” she said.

During the exams, Afshan had a tough time as mother too started falling sick often. “It was difficult, with my father in this condition and my brother and sister also studying for their exams. I could barely study for two hours a day. There were days when I had to stay back in college to study before coming home,” she told Bangalore Mirror.

All the housework used to take the toll on Afshan on some days. There were times when she felt she should just study and not do any of the other work, but she had to help the family out.

After all this, Afshan is happy with the results.

Her mother Zaheeriunssa told BM, “I want my daughter to study well and take care of her life. She is an asset to the family. We want to give her more time to study, but sometimes it does not happen.”

Afshan said her mother treats her like a queen. On her future plans, she said, “I want to study, but my family’s condition is such that I do not know what I can do next. My mother says I must get job at an office,” she said.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Cover Story / by Sana Khan, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / May 11th, 2017