The parents, Middi’s and Sumkama, never learned to read or write. Their eldest son of 15 years has attended school, but dropped out after the fifth grade and now helps his father in the fields. Their 13-year-old daughter does not attend school either; she helps her mother in the home. “I have to stand in line for several hours by the water pump in the village to get water,” she says. “In the summer, there is drought, and then the line gets even longer.” Her 11-year-old little brother and 8-year-old little sister both attend school. But after school they must help out at home. Middi’s elderly father is sick and stays inside all day. “He needs medicine and the children need food,” despairs Sumkama. “But we do not have enough money.”
Hungry when the rains fail When the rains fail, the Muthialappa family risks starvation. They normally harvest about 20 sacks of peanuts, selling 14 of them and keeping the rest as seed. With this money, the family can buy food and other things they need. Last year they harvested only four sacks. “It’s not even enough for seed,” says Middi. Middi and Sumkama do not have any savings in the bank. They grow a little food for their own consumption, and own one cow and one bull. The cow provides milk, and the ox is needed to plow, so Middi wants to put off selling the animals as long as he can. But the family needs the money to buy food, seed, fertilizer and insecticides. It is also difficult to find food for the animals when there is a drought.
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