A life of uncertainty and instability: MMC

Aritra Chakrabarty on December 18th, 2014

Rohini was born in Chalisgaon, Maharastra but shortly thereafter her family moved to a construction site in Mumbai. She has been living on construction sites for as long as she can remember as the last three generations of her family have all been construction workers! For her, migration meant constant grappling with the feeling of uncertainty induced by frequent relocations, instability, and absence of solid support systems that would cripple her hopes, aspirations, and dreams. But 20 year old Rohini could have never imagined that her life would take a different turn…

Rohini completed her 10^th grade in school when she was living in Byculla, a construction site in Mumbai. She then enrolled for the Bal Palika Training course offered by MMC in August of 2007 and upon graduating in July 2008 she immediately joined MMC as a teacher. She says that there are many women on the site who have received an education through 10th or 12th standard, but who do not get a chance to work in the formal sector, something that MMC’s training course provides them. She never thought that she would be able to become a teacher but the programme instilled confidence in her and also helped her achieve something truly wonderful; in 2009, she moved off the construction site into a home, becoming the first member in her extended family to have a permanent residence.

Rohini feels very fortunate to be able to take care of the children growing up on construction sites and hopes to help make their futures brighter.

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Aritra Chakrabarty

Anchor, SHRAM (Till Dec 31st, 2014)

As a social researcher, I believe in knowledge-based policy action. With a postgraduate degree in Development Studies, I've been associated with social issues in my professional space. As a part of SHRAMIC initiative, was involved with data creation, sourcing of resources that will become the knowledge bank of this project.