“I am holding a toy for the first time in my life”
Lakshmi was just 6 years old when her parents died of severe illness. Due to poverty they were unable to go to the local hospital. The little girl was left alone in this unfamiliar world with her elder brother and younger sister. Soon they moved to their relatives’ house but the children were badly treated by them. As a result Lakshmi’s elder brother ran away. Lakshmi took her younger sister and started living on the street. “I would do any kind of labour to feed myself and my sister. There were times when I even begged for food,” Lakshmi remembers with tears in her eyes. After two years Lakshmi’s maternal aunt came to know about their situation and brought the siblings with her. The aunt worked as bonded labour and earned less than Rupees 50 per day. Despite her willingness to support children, poverty forced her to look out for alternate ways. She came to know about SOS Children’s Village Tirupati from Child Welfare Committee and decided to send the siblings. “I was scare...