Bengaluru, 8 March

Anganwadi worker Lakshmi believes in having hope, despite the adversities life throws at her. Despite facing financial limitations alongside her differently-abled husband, this 46-year-old mother of two daughters refuses to let hardship dim her spirit.

From the crack of dawn until dusk, Lakshmi tends to the children of an Anganwadi nestled on the outskirts of the City, earning around Rs 11,800. While her older daughter is pursuing a BSc in animation in Dakshina Kannada district, the younger one is studying Second PU in the City.

“Since animation is an expensive course, we had to send her to Moodbidri,” Lakshmi said. Her husband's income from his role at an NGO adds around Rs 12,000 to their household coffers. "We cannot run our house from both of our incomes. But we adjust. Isn’t adjusting a part of life?” she asked.