“My family is from Multan. My father used to be a labourer there, and we came to Islamabad three years ago. I have three brothers and three sisters, and I am the oldest among my siblings. None of them are studying; we did not receive an education because our situation at home was not good.

I was born with a physical deformity. We had our own home and property in Multan that my father sold to pay for my treatment. I underwent six months of treatment in Lahore before we came to Islamabad, which helped greatly. My treatment cost around Rs500,000, and after that I was able to walk.

I have been doing this for three years. Before I began selling balloons, I worked as a tailor and as a motorcycle mechanic. My father became partially paralysed five years ago and had to stop working, and I started working instead. My mother also works in people’s homes.

We live in a rented one-room house in G-11/3 which costs Rs10,000 a month. When we first came to Islamabad we stayed with someone we knew from Multan and then we moved into our own home. The person we came to stay with was involved in selling balloons as well, and that is how I got started.

My balloons come from Raja Bazaar in Rawalpindi; I have noticed that balloons from China are more popular. I earn around Rs500 to Rs800 per day, and I give all the money I earn to my father, who is with me at my stall in F-10. I ask him for money if I need it, but I don’t keep any myself.

I am really indebted to my father; he sold everything he owned to pay for my treatment. Now, I want to help him when he has no one to rely on.”

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2019