Suniti Mohanta leaves her home early every morning, navigating her way on a two-wheeler across the uneven terrain of Talakainsari village to her first stop for the day – a crèche where around 20 children are waiting for her.
The walls of the crèche are covered with photographs of the children, their drawings, and charts mapping their growth. There are plenty of toys, blankets and beds, and a designated space for breastfeeding. Until recently, the space where this crèche is located used to be a ‘clubhouse’ where locals would hold prayers. Now children aged 6-36 months spend almost eight hours a day here while their parents are busy at work in the neighbouring mining areas, brick kilns or agricultural fields.