MILIND & VIDYA

This Father’s Day meet Milind, a farmer and father to Vidya in our Beacon Learning Centre nursery.

Milind grew up in Jalna, a district in Maharashtra, India, famous for its sprawling acres growing dal (yellow lentil) and mosambi (sweet lemon)

In the last decade though, Jalna has dried up with severe drought, and its farmers like Milind have fled the land. Milind relocated with his wife and children nearly 400 km away to Mumbai.

Here, they settled into a slum community north of the city and Milind took up every odd job he could find to keep his family alive. Some days he earned well; some days he didn’t earn at all. With three children to feed, life was tough, and Milind slipped into alcoholism.

However thin their finances were though, Milind refused to let his wife Kamal find work. It went against the beliefs of his forefathers in Jalna, and Milind held tight to his traditions.

That’s until he met Vision Rescue’s community worker last year. Over months of counselling, Milind was finally convinced that Kamal’s additional income could help their children have a better future.

He had already admitted Vidya into our nursery for this very reason.

Milind finally allowed Kamal to take up work as a housemaid. Today, Kamal is proud to contribute to her family’s well being with her income; she even advocates for education and women’s’ empowerment in her neighbourhood as Vision Rescue’s ‘Community Champion’.

Over time, Milind has chosen to open up about his life and beliefs to our community worker. The journey from farming for a living in Jalna, to erratic daily-wage labour in Mumbai has taken its toll on him. We’re now working towards getting him a permanent job as a security guard in partnership with CEDP (Centre for Education and Development Programmes Trust).

Milind has also recently chosen to cut back on drinking away his woes. “He looks after the children, spends time with them, and even gets Vidya ready for BLC when he’s free,” says Kamal. “Most importantly, he wants to do the best he can for our children to have a secure future.”

Thank you for choosing to give men like Milind a helping hand in their times of need. It’s your financial support that has aided his counselling and Vidya’s education.

The seeds you’ve sown will reap rewards for generations to come!