On Friday, Sarika S.V. is making flags for the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ drive at a special livelihood unit attached to the Uzhamalakkal BUDS school for the differently abled funded by the Kudumbashree. Sarika’s 10-year-old son attends the school, as does the adult son of Prasobha S., the second member of the unit called ‘Lekshmi.’
Of the 30 Kudumbashree microenterprise units in the district that are involved in producing the Tricolour for flying in homes as part of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign from August 13 to 15, Lekshmi is the only one attached to a BUDS school.
Sarika has been a Kudumbashree member for a decade and Prasobha even longer. Like many women with differently abled children, they could not go to work when their children attended school. As taking care of children with special needs largely falls on women, Sarika, Prasobha, and other mothers stayed at hand in case they were needed. The livelihood unit was started a year-and-a-half ago so as to provide these women an opportunity to earn a living while they waited for their wards at school.
