KOCHI: The pandemic was an unexpected blow on all our lives. Covid has changed many lives around us for good, and there is probably no going back for many of them. But some people, like Sreejisha S, are phoenixes when met with fire — they revive and thrive. The 35-year-old homemaker from Vaduthala, Kochi, is now a courier delivery girl — a job she took up to be able to afford a smartphone for her daughter’s online classes, which she is still saving up for.
“Watching my daughter’s struggles to attend her online classes was hard. I have a phone, but I need it to answer work calls, so I cannot give it to her. She used to miss out on most lessons,” says Sreejisha. Her 10-year-old daughter Sathyasridha studies at the LMCC girls high school, Pachalam. With lockdown forcing her husband Satheesh Raj — an auto driver — out of work, life became uncertain for the family.
“I worked as an office attendant for a brief period. Though I contacted the courier firm I work for after noticing advertisements in the newspaper, the position was reserved for a male candidate. Desperate, I contacted them again and finally got in. In the beginning, it was very hard to manage. When other delivery boys were taking up to 60 couriers a day, I started with only 10 consignments. But gradually, I equalled them,” beams Sreejisha.
Tough road
It’s been almost a month since she started the new job. “I have severe body ache after a day’s work. Often, I struggle to manage the heavy consignments. It’s even harder when Sayanth, our three-year-old son, needs my presence at home. We have a five-member family, including my mother-in-law. The job has turned out to be a life-saver for us,” said Sreejisha.
When queried about the fear of contracting Covid, Sreejisha says she is anxious too. “But I have bigger things to worry about. Our house is in dilapidated condition and the property has several legal issues. I am following all the safety protocols, that is the best I can do,” she says.
Even when life has put an unprecedented burden on her, Sajeesha refuses to give up. “I was born and brought up in Kumbalam with two other sisters. My mother recently had a stroke and my father looks after her. My husband had plans to go for painting jobs and he gave up that to look after our children. As a family, we are collectively pushing to survive this time. Hopefully, we will,” she concludes.