A day in the life of Nalini
Nalini is nine years old. A delightful and cheerful girl, she lives with her mother and grandmother in a small tumbledown house with a palm leaf roof covered with a tarpaulin to keep the rain out. Her father is dead. Her mother is the sole breadwinner and brings home about £18 a month doing coolie jobs – gardening and building work. Nalini goes to the Panchayat school where she is doing well. She is sponsored by a Venkat Trust supporter, a lifeline for this impoverished family.
Time for Nalini to wake up. She shares a room with her mother and grandmother.
Mother braids Nalini's hair while Granny finishes the rangolis, the 'welcome' sign painted outside the houses.
Breakfast on the hoof. Nalini is running late but Mother insists she finishes her noodles before she goes.
Arriving at school for Assemby followed by morning lessons - Spoken English, Written English, Maths and Urdu.
Lunch for Nalini with her friends in the Venkat Trust Dining Hall. Afternoon lessons to follow - Tamil, History and Science and then it's off to Games at the VMT Sports Ground.