THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: 42-year-old Susy Kochukutty, a widow with two children, used to work as a maid. But with debts mounting, she wanted to find a better source of income. And so she learnt autorickshaw driving. Now, she is the proud owner of an autorickshaw and drives it around to earn decent wages. The gritty woman -- who lost her husband, Jude, 12 years ago -- has also managed to bring down her debt and marry off her daughter
Born to Antony Adima, a fisherman, and Carmel, both deceased, Susy’s life was hard as she had eight siblings. She had to drop out of school after Class VII. But this year, she fought through her worries and acquired the Class X equivalency certificate. While working as a maid for Rs 6,000 per month, she knew something had to be done to bring up her two schoolgoing children, Reshma and Renjith. That’s when her sister-in-law’s husband, Kuriakose, an autorickshaw driver, urged her to learn driving. “There appeared no alternative to earn a decent income,” Susy says.
By 2013, she managed to buy an autorickshaw on a bank loan. “My life has never been the same since then,” she says. She usually operates out of the autorickshaw stand at Thycaud, between 9am and 8pm. “Seeing my perseverance to stand on my feet, my younger sister, Rani, too started driving an autorickshaw,” says Susy, who is also the state joint secretary of the CITU Auto Taxi Union.
Recalling the tough path she traversed, Susy says, “There were instances when male passengers said they would keep the auto fare in my shirt pocket. Also, some of them would make unwarranted suggestions. So at night, I drive only on emergency hospital trips. ”Having built a terraced house in two cents at Valiyathura, she now has high hopes of her son Renjith, an ITI student, who also trains with Kovalam FC.