For her, education precedes everything

VADODARA: Twenty-six-year-old Hema Dhabi will come across like any other housemaid to most. Very few know the battles that the widow fights everyday to make sure her three children do not end up following her footsteps.
While many insisted her on a second marriage she declined for the sake of her two daughters who, she was sure, would have had to leave their studies."Some of the alliances that came after my husband's death were not ready to accept my daughters. Those who did, wanted to marry them off as soon as possible. I do not want to send my girls to the world unprepared," Dhabi told TOI. Hema refuses to leave the city to give the best possible education for her children.
"I could not finish my education because I had two brothers. Now I am unable to find a job because I have studied only till standard IX. I do not want my daughters to suffer because others are short-sighted about the future," she said.
A major chunk of her earnings is spent in educating her children a 13-year-old daughter, an 11-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son along with their school uniforms and books.
"They know I have to work hard. But I also want them to understand that I will always have time for them," added Dhabi, who also works as a caretaker for a party plot in the city.