Illiterate, single Indian mum reveals how she raised her 8 kids in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, May 10 (ANI): A single, unemployed Indian mother in Malaysia who was illiterate and could not speak Malay or English has opened up about how she managed to raise her 8 children.

After her husband Kartar Singh died in 1972, Sarjit Kaur and her eight children were allowed stay at Hospital Bahagia in Tanjung Rambutan, where her husband had worked as a hospital attendant.

With financial help from close relatives and income from the three eldest children who worked after completing Form Five, Sarjit managed to put her remaining five children through secondary school and college.

"At the time, it was like a nightmare, worrying about where we would live after my husband died," The Star Online quoted the 80-year-old Sarjit saying through her daughters Manjit Kaur and Jasbir Kaur, who helped to translate her replies in Punjabi.

"My mum couldn't find work. She was illiterate and could only speak Punjabi. She couldn't even shop for groceries as she couldn't count. But that didn't stop her from providing for us," said 45-year-old Manjit.

Jasbir said her mother despite being illiterate would take an active interest in their academics.

"She would look for red or blue marks in the report card to know if we were doing well in school. She would also sit with us every night while we completed our homework," said Jasbir.

All eight children are now married and Sarjit is blessed with 19 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.(ANI)