Six years old girl takes good care of visually impaired sibling

At an age when most children may not even understand the meaning of word ‘responsibility’, six-year-old Hiral is busy taking care of her 15-day-old sister. Sounds ordinary but only until one is told that both of her parents are visually impaired and it is Hiral who looks after them.

The girl brings home the point that the girl child must be saved as a precious gift of God. She studies in Class II in a municipal school and does not complain about not having access to certain things in life, which kids of her age enjoy.

While Hiral’s mother Kusumben is a housewife, her father Bhikhabhi Chauhan carries a portable weight machine and charges Re 1 from the weight-conscious people.

“I earn around Rs 15 to 20 in a day. We have no relatives or anyone to help or support us,” said Bhikhabhai, who had studied till SSC. Kusumben, on the other hand, could not get any work even as she had studied up to third-year in college.

The Chauhans are contented with the birth of another daughter. “With a daughter like Hiral, we don't have to worry about anything,” they said proudly.

Dr Rajal Thaker, associate professor of gynaecology at V S Hospital, is all praise for the girl. “She runs around doing small chores for her parents whenever they need something,” he said.

While a widespread campaign is going on to save the girl child, Hiral proves its importance by setting a perfect example of how a girl child can save her parents.