[Reader-list] helping Jaggo

[juhi saklani]

Dear friends whom-I-do-not-quite-know-yet,

This is an appeal for help, about a desperate situation in which a
domestic worker I know finds herself. I write in the hope that it may
be satisfying for all of us to share with another person, help her
family from sinking quite badly and generally create a happy hole in
the narratives of frustration that so often seem to surround us.

Jaggo has been washing dishes and cleaning houses for decades now. Her
husband doesn’t earn anything much and she has three children. A lady
she worked with for 10 years bought her a piece of land near Badarpur,
where she managed to build a couple of rooms. This house is her only
security. Much of Jaggo’s earnings simply go in commuting between her
house and Delhi. She is also a part-time sweeper in a government
office but they haven’t made her permanent in years. It seems she
needs to give a hefty sum (which she can’t afford) to the in-house
union leader who will share it with concerned officers and get this
done.

Some years back, Jaggo’s brother needed a similar sum to bribe someone
at his office to be made permanent. He needed a loan but had nothing
to mortgage. So he persuaded Jaggo to mortgage her house to a local
moneylender for 50,000 rupees. But once he became permanent, he
pleaded that he had three daughters to marry off and couldn’t pay
back. He avoided her and eventually became hostile and threatening.

Jaggo has now been paying off an interest of 60 per cent on this loan
for years. She is often unable to pay the interest so the moneylender
adds the remainder to the principal amount. Over the years she must
have paid him more than 2 lakh rupees. I know the family have problems
eating and the eldest son couldn’t go to college though he managed a
creditable Class 12. He has been forced to start working as a peon in
a small company.

Banks or other private lenders are not willing to give her loan (for a
more manageable interest) since the family income is just too small.

THE IMMEDIATE PROBLEM
This year Jaggo managed to get her principal loan back to 50,000 but
has fell back on interest payments again. The moneylender has
threatened that by 7 Sept he will again increase her principal
drastically. Worse, he now seems to want to take over the house. If
her ‘loan’ goes up to 1 lakh again, or if she loses her house, it
would be really pushing this family down a spiral that you can easily
imagine.

Given the urgency, she needs to pay off the lender at one go. I am
willing to contribute 20,000 rupees towards this situation but need to
raise another 30,000/ before 7 Sept.

If you could possibly contribute something to help her, it would be
wonderful. This mail is going out to 30 people and she needs 30,000
rupees, but it would be so much nicer if more people (giving less
money each) could be involved. Could you please also send this mail to
anyone you feel may be interested in getting involved?

And I hope around 10 Sept I can write to you all that she is, in her
words, free at last.

very grateful for your time and for your listening to the story of
another person,
warmly,
juhi

PS: You can give the money simply as (i) a donation to Jaggo, or (ii)
as a loan to me (which I can pay back over the coming 3-4 months).

HOW TO GIVE
1.	You can give me cash. To discuss how to get it across, pls mail or
call me at 9871145811. I can also come to pick it up, if you like.

2.	You can make a cheque for Jaggo’s son – whose employer has just
opened an account for him – and send/ courier it to me.
Name: Kuldeep Kumar
Account number: SB01006512
Bank: Corporation Bank
Phone: 9350516437
[Pls write the account number and phone at the back of the cheque]

Post this to me at:
Juhi Saklani
Outlook Traveller Guides,
AB 6, 1st floor,
Safdarjung Enclave
(Kamal Cinema Market)
New Delhi – 110029

[Cell: 9871145811]

3.	You can deposit the cheque or cash directly into her son’s account.
(Do mail or sms me so I can keep track of the amount of money).