With the cost of living going through the roof, Thimphu is becoming a place that is more suited for high-income earners and well-paid office-goers. It can be challenging for the daily wage earners and people depending on meagre monthly pay to survive in the country’s capital. Life can be even more difficult if you are a single mother working two jobs to make ends meet for your family. We bring you a story of a mother of three, who by day is a caretaker at a gewog office and by night, a taxi driver.
It is 5 pm and while most office workers take off to the comfort of their homes, Dechen Zangmo is far from getting a good rest. She has yet to wrap up her caretaker duties.
As night falls, Dechen gets ready to take off in her taxi. She will be out till 1 am. Dechen has been a taxi driver for the past two years. Life hasn’t been easy on her. From domestic violence to molestation, she has lived it all.
“I advise all single parents to work hard for their children. Like His Majesty says, it’s just a matter of whether we are willing to work or not. There is nothing we can’t do. When I don’t have to work for the office, I work in my kitchen garden. This way, I don’t have to spend on buying vegetables,” said Dechen Zangmo.
She works hard, day in and day out without complaining to provide for her three children. And her hard work does not go unappreciated, at least not by her children.
They say she has never let them feel the absence of a father. Although financially challenged, she takes her children’s interests seriously and manages finances from elsewhere when she doesn’t have enough cash to support them.
“Since I have to stay till 1 am, the children even help with the cleaning, thinking I won’t be able to get up early. That’s how we support each other. I am planning to take them out today since it is Sunday.”
The challenging times Dechen has been through have only made her stronger and more resilient.
Dechen now plans to add another feather to her hat as she looks forward to taking up tailoring training in hopes of strengthening her family’s financial security.
She is urging all single parents like her to not lose hope and keep on working harder to build a better future for their children.
Tashi Yangden/ Karma Samten Wangda
Edited By Phub Gyem
