When Priya, a resident of Velapadi, decided to work as a construction labourer a year ago, her biggest concern was the care of her one-year-old son. Like her, Sumathi of Nallampattarai Chinna Street, wanted to support the family by taking up tailoring work at home but her little daughter had to be taken care of.
Today, the two mothers are employed in their own way, but at the same time, they have ensured that their toddlers are in safe hands. For many working mothers like them, who hail from low income groups and lack supporting members to take care of children at home, the creches run by the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) have come of help.
ICDS runs 23 creches for one to two year old children across Vellore district, of which seven function in Vellore urban block alone. The creches are run alongside anganwadi centres located in government schools.
“I wanted to take up a job when my son turned one. I started to leave him at this creche in Velapadi. Now, he is two years old. Every day, I bring him here at 9 a.m. and go for construction work in the surrounding locality, and take him back at 2 p.m.,” said Priya.
Saritha, whose daughter is going to be two years old, has been leaving the child under the care of the worker at a creche at Thottapalayam. “I roll beedis and earn ₹30 a day. This creche is of great help as my daughter is taken care of, and I am able to work and earn some money. She is happy to be here,” she said.
“My daughter-in-law works as a domestic help, and I sell greens in Nethaji Market. I started to leave my granddaughter at the creche when she was about nine months old, and she got along well. My son, who is an auto driver, picks her up at 4 p.m.,” said Anusuya, grandmother of Dharshini, who is one-and-a-half-years old now.
Growing enquiries
Handing over bowls of mashed potatoes to the children, a staff said that the creche, when started about three years ago, had only five children. “The number started to increase as we kept canvassing among residents. Today, we have 15 children. While this is the approved strength for each centre, we keep getting more inquiries from parents,” she said.
“Creches were established through ICDS in select districts. We are witnessing good patronage for the facility. Mothers, particularly daily wage labourers and those without support of parents or in-laws at home are finding these creches useful. A number of women working in the market or running roadside shops leave their children here,” an official said.
As per a time table, the toddlers are provided with millet porridge, vegetable soup, milk and biscuits and mashed potatoes each day. They are also given meals with eggs. The children are provided with play materials. “We sing songs and rhymes for them. We make them sleep too,” added a creche staff.
Nevertheless, some of these creches do not have workers and are managed by the anganwadi workers due to poor pay structure. “Some of them left as they were paid ₹3,000. Better pay will help retain workers,” an official said.
