Embracing Change – Nima

The day Nima was born, her father also got a government job with Delhi Development Authority as a gardener. Hence, she was considered a lucky charm and brought up with lots of love and affection. Her father passed away when Nima was 2 years old. Luckily for the family, their mother got the job in his place and was able to earn a living supporting the entire family. But the going was tough. Her eldest sister was married off at an early age of 16 years. During this time, their only brother was studying in the evening school and used to work in the morning delivering newspaper and selling at a vegetables market to contribute to the family income. Nima was only able to complete 8th standard – she attended class 9 and 10 but could not pass. Nima, now 36, was married at 19 into a joint migrant family that earned living as scrap dealers. Nima gave birth to two children, Payal & Jitu. One day when she was learning sewing at a community centre, she heard about Azad Foundation and Women on Wheels for the first time. She really liked the idea of women learning to drive and decided that one day she would learn herself but felt that the programme was not for her as she could not work as a driver, not being allowed to step out of house. However,later on things started to change in her family. Since Nima’s husband has always worked in the family venture, he had never had much say in family decisions and had always been completely depended on his father. Her father-in-law used to take care of all their needs in terms of food, clothing and money required for the running of the household. Nima was never given any money beyond that. When the time came, her father-in-law refused to send Payal to a good school, and later completely refused to send Jitu to get education. Nima fought her way to get good schooling for her kids, and that’s when her father-in-law told them that they should start fending for themselves and their children. Her husband got separated from the family business and they were given a small section in the house for themselves. Her husband started drinking because he was unable to handle his work and the responsibility towards his family. Nima started doing small jobs like stitching beads and making falls for sarees to earn a living. But, depending on the work she got, she would earn only aroundRs.100-200 a day. Her husband’s earnings were erratic and his drinking continued regularly. She vividly remembers a time when for seven days there was no money to buy food. She only had bread and she fed Payal and Jitu bread with milk while she herself ate bread with chutney. 3 years went by like this. She tried to help her husband by borrowing Rs 25,000 from her mother to help him start his own business. But within 6 months there was no money and no business. At that point, she decided she needed to do something to stand on her own feet. She called Azad Foundation and enrolled herself for Women on Wheels training. This was in 2011. Training took time as she felt sick and her brother also passed away, but after eventually completing her training, she soon got her first job as a private chauffeur working for a visually impaired woman, with help from Sakha consulting Wings. As she says, she’s learnt so much on this job, learning how to conduct herself, being professional, empathic and patient. From having no stable income, she started earning Rs.6500 a month. After working for 2 years as a private chauffeur, she joined Sakha Cabs for Women by Women, earning Rs 9,500 per month. Presently her salary increased to Rs. 10,600, and earns additional incentives of Rs. 2500-3000 per month for night and overtime duties. Initially she used to work only during the day but now she is also doing night duties. Her confidence level has increased and she is having a great run working with different clients, sometimes including a Bollywood star Mr. Aamir Khan! Nima has through her hard work and dedication managed to gain financial stability now. Unlike herself, she would like to give an opportunity to her children to get a good education and enroll them for various extra-curricular activities. Her children call her “Super Mom”. She plans to buy a Bullet Bike for her daughter, send her son to a cricket academy and teach him how to cook. She also wants to buy her own plot of land and drive her own car with Sakha. And what she says when asked why she chose driving as her profession? “This is my way of giving back to the society, by opening up a different employment option for women, so that tomorrow any woman has the opportunity, means and choice to become a lady driver.”