MINGORA: The presence of hundreds of tourists in Malam Jabba is a blessing for few local girls, belonging to poor families, as they sell boiled eggs to the people visiting the ski resort.

The girls aging between 10 to 12 years daily visit the tourists resort by paying Rs100 to enter it with a small pot full of boiled eggs to sell them to the tourists and earn money for their families.

They told Dawn that they had no brothers therefore they wanted to contribute financially to their families by working and earning in a respectable way.

Local girls earn adequate amount by selling boiled eggs at ski resort

“My father is a daily wager and it is difficult for him to make both ends meet. Therefore, I have decided to help my father in earning livelihood. I ask my mother to boil eggs for me to sell,” said Mehreen, a 13-year-old-girl, who was selling boiled eggs at the top of Malam Jabba.

Mehreen and other girls sell a boiled egg at Rs20 but sometimes tourists take pity on them and pay them Rs25 per egg.

“I can easily sell 50 eggs daily but during the peak season when number of tourists is high I sell about 100 eggs making an average of Rs2,000. My profit is about Rs800 or Rs1000,” she said.

Mehreen said that she was a third grader. She said that she usually sold eggs after school time but during the vacations she did so in the morning too.

“I want to get education that’s why I go to school in the morning and then come out to the touristic spots to sell eggs,” she said.

Mehreen said that there were many boys, who sold boiled eggs but being a girl tourists preferred to buy from her because they took pity on her. She said that women tourists were more kind than men as women gave tips lavishly and also suggested them to study.

“When women tourists see me selling eggs, they give me extra money and also advise me to continue education. They are loving and kind,” she said. She said that she was lucky to be a resident of Malam Jabba as thousands of tourists visited it both in summer and winter.

“I would not have been able to earn money, if I was not in Malam Jabba. Malam Jabba is not only a scenic and popular tourist resort but also a blessing for its residents as it provides good source of income to them,” said Mehreen.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2019