Maria

This is the story of Maria, who lives with her grandmother and her two younger brothers in one bedroom. They all have to stay there together. There is no privacy, for no one.

When we got to their place, she had just taken her grandma to a nearby hospital for treatment. Both her parents are gone and left them alone, luckily their grandmother was there. Maria tries her best to raise her younger brothers, and tries to substitute the absent mother, while still managing to attend school. She has good grades. Education is important she said, in order to have a chance in  life. Otherwise you will not get a job. “I have to take the responsibility for my 2 younger brothers! They also need to go to school to learn important things about life” she told us.

One day, she wants to become a professional dancer and even though she supports her grandmother the best she can, both of them know that it is incredibly hard for two female caretakers to stand their ground in a heavily male dominated environment as it is the case in many parts of India. But Maria believes in her strength and their future. She will not give up. She knows what she wants, even if it is still a long way to get there.