Debt and medical expenses are among budget considerations for Kalayvani (pictured above) in India.

Indian Family Struggles with Debt Amid an Impoverished Lifestyle

	For Sabia Sultana of Bangalore, India, even basic child care such as providing nutritious food is a challenge on a low, inconsistent income.

It's a vicious cycle of poverty and indebtedness that plagues the poor in India. Habitat homeowners are no exception. However, because the Habitat house serves as collateral, these homeowners can often borrow money to get through stressful financial situations--such as an illness, or even a wedding.

Many others, however, like almost 60 percent of India's population, live hand to mouth, with little to no savings. When disaster or unanticipated expenses strike, families either recover through no-interest loans from neighbors or fall to the mercy of creditors who apply exorbitant interest rates to their loans.

For many people, medical expenses are a necessary reality, but expenses they can ill afford. Most homeowners either don't go to the doctor or borrow money from neighbors to pay for their medical treatment. For instance, Habitat homeowner Mary Kuttan, who suffers from severe asthma, lies for days on a straw mat across the floor of her house until she can afford medication or until her neighbors lend the money to cover those expenses.

Nagamma, a widow and Habitat homeowner for eight years, is a diabetic who needs medical attention every week. She can hardly afford it, since a day off means a cut in her meager wage of Rs 200 per week (US $4) in addition to the expense of transportation to the hospital (Rs 20; US $0.41). She goes once every two weeks or when she's really ill. Her 25-year-old daughter, Nalini, can no longer work due to heart trouble and also needs medication and treatment.

Every day, low-income families struggle to make ends meet with limited resources. For instance, most low-income families eat only two meals per day. Nutritious fare like vegetables, milk and fruit is only a dream for many, even those with small children. As they endure a constant challenge, just one unexpected expense can tip the financial scales against them.

Kalayvani, her husband, Krishna, and their children are a typical low-income family in India. Kalayvani and Krishna work as laborers in a vegetable garden and have incurred significant debt to their landlord, who also owns the field in which they work and the house in which they live. To their advantage, the landlord charges no rent or interest on the money he lends them. However, even though Kalayvani and Krishna earn a combined Rs 3,800 (US $79) per month, they "take home" much less because of debt payments, which vary from month to month.

This take-home amount hardly covers necessary expenses, not the least of which is regular medical attention for both Kalayvani and Krishna, who suffer from chronic typhoid and an ulcer, respectively.

Krishna and Kalayvani also incur significant expenses in providing for their children's education. Two of their children attend an English-language school, which costs more than other options. However, Kalayvani is adamant that her children receive an education that will provide a better life than that of a field laborer.

--Anita Mellott