Angammal's kid does potty by himself | Milaap
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Angammal's kid has access to hygienic sanitation now

Written by Akshay Balan Publish date 25-Oct-2017
Angammal
Angammal

At Angammal's home, I was suddenly reminded of childhood. Not in a misty, nostalgic way that I usually look a the past, but more like I was shaken into reality. Because suddenly, as I stood at the doorway, just as Angammal struggled with her four-year-old son, I realized how alarmingly impressive being a parent is. 'How do you do it?' I wondered, not directed just at Angammal, but at parents in general. "I can't do this," exasperates Angammal. "He's been acting out like this" The child, a scrawny little boy, cried with all the voice that he could muster. Angammal looks at him sternly and looks back at me. "He wants new toys. I'm not buying him any. He'll just break it." The child cried louder in response. Angammal went near him, scolded him for crying and sent him into the bedroom. I sat on a stool. Angammal then settled down on a seat in front of an electric sewing machine facing the wall. "I must apologize, I can't sit to talk at ease," she began as she picked up a metal ruler and a blue triangular tailor's chalk. "It's just that this is the festival weekend. And I do not know when all my work today will be done. By this event, many customers are expecting their clothes to be ready. " She is frantically measuring the clothe, marking the edges to be cut off. "It's not easy raising a child. My husband has his business and I have mine. And we need both the earnings to keep us afloat. And between all of that, taking care of the child tends to be very challenging." She pauses, looking absentmindedly at the wall. "But then again, he is sort of the reason we're keeping ourselves together. Our son brings the family together, you know. He's the reason my husband and I work so hard. So that our son has a better life. Only a few years ago, I was living under a thatched roof at my maternal home. But now, we have a strong house, we have a toilet built. We built the toilet with a loan for our son. The doctor said it would be good to start him habituated at a younger age. Now, he is getting used to using toilets by himself. So he is easier for me to handle. I thank our lenders for the support."

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