Support for children of sex workers in COVID 19

I saw a pleasant smile on my daughter’s face after many days

Its indispensable to follow physical distance which is one of the preventive measures and protocols of COVID 19 pandemic. But the same physical distance made many sex workers to stay distant from even food and other daily needs of their children and their family members. “No customer turned out to my door steps so far because of COVID preventive measures and protocols enforced by the Government. I am unable to grab my bread and butter as there is no income. But sex work is the sole survival for me to survive myself and my children as well” said 26 years old Mounika* who got married at the age of 14 years with a person who is one of her mother’s relatives.

K.Mounika belongs to YSR colony in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. She lost her father at her early age.Her mother was a daily wage labour feeding their family. she had one brother and grandmother. Brother was married and living separately. Mounika has given birth to one girl and one boy child and her husband had lived with her till she gave birth to her 6 years old son who is younger than the girl child who turned 8 years now. Monika returned to her mother’s house as her husband didn’t get back so far and even his whereabouts are still not known. After coming back to her mother’s house, they were unbale to meet the family expenses just with the earnings of Mounika and her mother. As there is no option, she got influenced by one of her tenants and taken away to some distant place in the name of good employment with high salary. Mounika screamed that “it didn’t take much time for me to understand that I was deceived and sold. My ill fate made my life worse to severe. I would have remained in my home safe unless I quest for more money and trapped by that aunty”.

Once Mounika was rescued, kept for few months in a shelter home and re-integrated with her family. But after re-integration, she is not in a position to meet her family expenses as there is no work and no income since COVID lockdown in the state. The second wave COVID affected her life more bitter than ever as her family had starved for few days. Mounika said, “adding fuel to fire, for two months my daughter is suffering from some health issues. Even I have been contracted with COVID and was remained in home isolation for 20 days. No money for medicine and even to take some nutrition food to recover soon. I took loans from private money lenders for high interest rates which indeed out of my capacity but not in a position to repay at least interests if not principal amount”.

Mounika thanked that, “I saw smile on my daughter’s face after many days for which I would be so thankful to the GlobalGiving with my heart’s content for supporting nutrition, medicines and provisions for two months through HELP organisation at this calamity where there are hurdles and hardships still continuing in this COVID 19 pandemic outbreak”.