Manju Devi: “My husband saw our plight on TV”
East Champaran district, Bihar (India)
Manju Devi’s husband is a migrant labourer. The 25-year-old mother of two misses him, particularly when floodwaters were still swirling in her village, Jhakra, in Piprakothi block, near Motihari town, East Champaran district in north Bihar.
But Manju Devi knows that her community the Musahar (one of India’s poorest, most marginalised groups) – and volunteer bodies like ActionAid partner the Social Research & Development Centre
(Samajik Shodh Evam Vikas Kendra) – SSEVK – will stand by the downtrodden.
As well as providing practical support, SSEVK and ActionAid have been working to build confidence in the community and spread knowledge of their rights to help them claim government services they are entitled to such as subsidized grain intended for families living below the poverty line.
While the situation for the Musahar here is slowly improving with active volunteer groups emerging, and local initiatives such as community grain banks to help in times of hardship, many families still rely on income from migrant labour to get through the year.
Coping alone
“A month before the rains, my husband went off to Bangalore to work there as a labourer and earn money. I live with my parents-in-law. I have to look after them, and my two children. But what to do when the floodwaters come? Where to find food, shelter and other help? That’s when I miss my husband the most. But I know it can’t be helped. I have to find some way out.
Helping hands
“We could survive thanks to the food provided by the sanstha (organisation – as SSEVK is known in the local parlance). They gave us
chura (flattened rice) and gur (jaggery) when we had no food. And a lot of help and support during our difficult days.
“Floods are a menace for us. More so for women. Our misery increases during the rain and flood. And if our husbands have to go off to find work elsewhere, then we have to fend for ourselves.
Life is a struggle
“My husband saw our plight on TV, and after seeing us called twice from Bangalore – on a neighbour’s mobile phone. He asked about the flood – how bad it was, about the children and parents, and whether our hut is still standing or not.
“He said he can’t come right now, as he must earn for all of us. He hasn’t been able to send any money so far – as he went just a month ago. He knows that we can survive only if he stays there and earns money to send to us. For there is no work here. But then life is a struggle.”
