In Madhya Pradesh, 5 Siblings Orphaned By COVID-19 Beg For Survival

Since their parents' death, 10-year-old Nisha has assumed the role of father and mother for her siblings; her youngest brother is just seven months old

Orphaned by COVID-19, five siblings from the Valmiki community in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district have been reduced to living on the charity of residents of Amaha village. The children - three sisters and two brothers, the youngest of whom is seven months old and the oldest 10 - don't even have a proper roof over their heads; they live in a partially damaged shack near a cremation ground; when it rains they scamper to a tin-roofed shed inside the grounds. Their father - Raghavendra Valmiki, died in February and their mother - Girija - in June. Both succumbed to the coronavirus. Since then the children have been left to fend for themselves. "Our parents died as the virus spread. We have nothing to eat... so we daily get food and milk from the villagers, who also provided us clothes. We request the government to provide us a house... food, drinking water and education," Nisha, the oldest child, said.