DHARAN, May 3: He wakes up early in the morning, like every good student. But instead of opening his books, he rushes to Bhanu Chowk on his rickshaw and pedals the uphills and downhills of the local roads before hurrying back home at around nine in the morning. [break]
He then goes to school and joins his friends in study. But while his friends leave home to play after eating something in the evening, he has to return to work and pull his rickshaw till late in the evening.
Fifteen-year-old Arjun Gurung has been doubling as the breadwinner of his family of six ever since his father was jailed. The sixth grader refuses to elaborate on his dad´s plight but with a heartwarming smile readily talks about his daily grind.
"I have to hurry in the morning to wait for my turn at the rickshaw, which is gone if I turn up late," Gurung says. He earns around 100-150 rupees every day and has to run his family with the amount left, after paying Rs 40 to the rickshaw owner. "I earn a little more on the days when my school is off," he says, with a sheepish smile.
Like every other child of his age, he also aspires to study full time. But his family will have to go hungry if he stops pulling a rickshaw even for a day. "I want to study seriously, but there are no other helping hands to turn to, and I have to look after the family," Gurung rues.
He often falls ill due to his slogging through the heat, but he has to work through sickness. His best buddy Yuvaraj, who also pulls a rickshaw in Bhanu Chowk, offers his insight on Gurung´s plight. "I also pull a rickshaw along the same route and study in the eighth grade in the same school. But I don´t have to toil as hard as Arjun because my father also pulls a rickshaw to support my family," 14-year-old Yuvaraj says.
There are many others in Dharan who are forced into child labor due to poverty but, like Arjun, they can do nothing more than hope for the always elusive good days.
(Trainee reporter)
