Living in Extreme Poverty

My name is Divya Patel. I’m a brickmaker in India with 4 kids. My family and I live on less than $1.25 a day. This is a month in my life.

I choose to live in the slums rather than the village because even though it’s crowded and dangerous, but we are near a city, so we can earn more money. I’ll earn about $0.64/day.

Day 2 of the month and firewood prices just increased. We’ll have to be cold through the night so that we can afford to cook our meals. This is an unfair choice to make, but one that has to be made.

Day 5 – my son has outgrown his school uniform. It was too small already – but now he can’t even pull it on. Unless I buy a new one, he will have to be removed from school. We really don’t have the money, but without an education his future is hopeless. So I guess I’ll pay it…

This week, I earned 224 rupees. That’s about $4.25. After spending 169 on food and 24 on firewood, I’m left with 31 … about $0.59.

To see what the rest of the month holds, come join me over at Bibledude.net.