Jharkhand : Life was tough for Rita Devi, 25, a mother of three children in Bhurkunda village in district Ranchi in Jharkhand. She would have to walk 20 kilometres to fetch wood which then she would chop into logs and sell in the market for a mere Rs 120. She would start before sunrise, complete her household chores, tie her youngest child on her back and walk barefoot armed with an axe to the forest to collect wood.

Uttarakhand : Kalyani Devi's deeply creased face tells the story of her hardship. A grandmother of six children and a resident of Bhuiyansari village in the mountainous district of Tehri Garhwal, Devi, 54, had no option but to work as a manual labourer every time food ran short in her home.

Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh : Shiva Adivasi, 11, is a child worker who puts in 12 hours of labour each day. He does not go to school and can barely read or write. Despite these adversities, this tribal boy from one of the most backward regions of the state has a smile on his face. “Of late, I have started eating more rotis and I feel stronger than before,” he says with a wide grin.

Seven Members of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly travelled to the district of Guna in Madhya Pradesh to study UN-supported initiatives to curb malnutrition among young children and vulnerable communities.

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