“I have been selling sugarcane slices for the last eight years. I know many people think I am exaggerating considering I’m just 12, but it’s true.

My family belongs to Vehari, and every male member of my family is a vendor, selling various items on carts.

My father and my uncle’s family used to live together in our ancestral home. My uncle sold sugarcane slices on a cart, and I began helping him when I was four. Whenever he had some work, he would leave me with the cart, which I would then tend to. Two years ago, my family moved to Islamabad and we began the same work we were doing back in Vehari.

I have never been to school, although my father tried his best to admit me to one. I was never interested in education. I have always seen my family selling items on carts, and that was what I had at the back of my mind as well.

We are eight siblings in total – six sisters and two brothers – and four of my siblings are older than me. All my sisters go to school. My older brother has his own cart, while my father tends to his.

I earn around Rs2,500 per day, and I give all my money to my father as he bears the expense of my family. We have rented a house in a katchi abadi in Bari Imam for Rs2,500.

We have never seen any financial problems, as we work together and live in a joint setup. I don’t regret not getting an education either; what difference would that have made in my life? I am content to know that I am earning enough for my family, that is all that is important to me.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2017