Vedant Rai was a Pollinate Fellow in Lucknow. During the fellowship in 2017, he met with Pollinate Energy customers Safiku and Jumman. This is their story.
Safiku and Jumman are a couple living in a roadside slum community in Lucknow. Before moving to this community, they used to live in a ‘Pukka house’ – a permanent, high-quality house made with materials such as stone, or concrete. The family was forced to move to the community 20 years ago because of the terrible conditions they faced at their rental property. As well as enduring physical and verbal abuse from their landlord, crime was rife in their neighbourhood.
Eventually, the situation became so unbearable that Safiku and Jumman had no other choice but to leave the house. They then moved to the roadside community with their six daughters and one son. The family was enterprising and soon set up a business making clay pots, diyas, and clay faces of prosperity. On a normal day, this allows them to earn Rs. 200 (AUD 4.00). On most days, this allows the family to scrape by, but it is not unusual for Safiku or Jumman to go to bed with an empty stomach.
“With solar lights, they can work on pottery later into the night, increasing earnings.”
During the festival season, however, the family can earn up to a total of Rs. 50,000 (AUD 990). This allows them to pay off debts and purchase necessary items. Since Pollinate Energy began visiting their community, Safiku and Jumman have used some of this money to purchase a total of three lights for their home and business. With solar lights, they can work on pottery later into the night, increasing the family’s total earnings. Despite all of the adversity Safiku and Jumman have faced, things are slowly beginning to take a turn for the better.