Hi, my name is Shashank Saurav. The domestic worker who comes to our house was recently struck with a financial emergency. Her husband and one of her sons tested positive for covid-19. Since this happened during the lockdown, I was in my hometown in Jharkhand. After coming back, I found out about the distress she was in.
She belongs to a peasant family from East Medinipur in West Bengal. Her family has around 10 hectares of land back in their village. She came to Mumbai 5 years ago in search of a better life for her children. But, like for so many others, this pandemic struck like a lightning bolt in her life. She sold all of her jewellery to pay for one of the hospital's bills her husband was admitted in. This bill came up to 6 lakh rupees. After being unable to afford treatment at this hospital, she had to transfer her husband to a different hospital. Here, she took an informal loan from the doctor treating her husband of 2 lakh rupees.
This loan was given to her at 10% annual interest. She managed to cobble up one lakh through her family and her village to pay the doctor soon after the loan was taken. The remaining one lakh is being paid by her at 10% annual interest. Through recurring payments of 5000 per month, she has managed to repay 60,000 so far. She still owes Rs 60,000. We would request all of you to help us collect this amount.