While children of his age play with friends after returning from school every evening, 15-year-old Giffin Raju of Kollam in Kerala heads to a farm where he has been growing different vegetables. For the last six years, Giffin has been working on the farm along with his father to cultivate vegetables and sell them to support his family.
Though he works daily on the farm, he has never stayed away from his school for a single day and been a studious student winning the hearts of his teachers and friends.
Giffin decided to step up to support his family after his father, C M Raju, 63, sustained a back injury while working as a technical staff member on a ship and had to quit his job years back. As his father couldn’t physically exert himself much due to the injury, Giffin is helping him on the farm and at the stall where they sell the harvested vegetables.
Though his mother, Vinu Raju, 51, who took up odd daily wage jobs to support the family, wanted her son to focus on studies, Giffin realised the crisis and chipped in to work on 1.5 acres of land at Pazhanjikadavu near Pidavoor, Pathanapuram in Kollam where his father decided to cultivate vegetables.
“I realised that I need to support my father and mother. I love working on the farm taking care of the vegetables. Once the vegetables are harvested, I sell them at our stall. It’s become a daily routine for me. I could get buyers for the vegetables because of their freshness and quality,” Giffin told “Open Digest“.
Each morning, he wakes up at 5 am, well before the first light of dawn, to go to the farm. His tasks range from watering the crops to removing weeds.
After completing his early morning chores, Giffin heads to school, where he is known for his diligence and dedication to his studies. Once the school day ends, Giffin returns to the farm to help his father and later to the stall to sell the vegetables.
“My parents have been doing so much for me and my sister Ruhuma Raju, 17, to live happily, and this is the least I can do for them. I consider it my responsibility to support my family,” says Giffin, who also has a fish farm at home. Giffin aspires to become a police officer after completing his studies.
