“I never told my kids what I did. I never wanted them to be ashamed of me. When my youngest daughter asked me what I did, I hesitated that I was a worker.

Before returning home, I cleaned the public toilet every day so they wouldn’t know what I was doing. I wanted to send my daughters to school. I wanted them to stand before my people with dignity. I never wanted anyone to look down on them the way everyone looked down on me.

People have always put me down. I spent the money I earned on the education of my daughters. I never bought a new shirt, but I bought a book for them with my own money. All I want is for them to give me respect. I was a cleaner.

The day before my daughter’s last college date, I couldn’t get my admission fee. I couldn’t work that day. I sat next to the trash can, trying my best to hide my tears. My colleagues looked at me, but no one approached me. I failed and my heart ached. When I returned home, I did not know how to behave with my daughter, who asked me to take. I was born poor. I didn’t think anything good would happen to the poor.

After work, all the cleaners came to me, sat beside me, and asked if I considered them as brothers. Before I could answer, they each handed me their one day’s income. When I tried to refuse everyone; they confronted me by saying, ‘We will starve today if needed, but our daughter has to go to college.’ I couldn’t reply to them. That day I did not take a shower; I went back to my house like a cleaner.

My eldest daughter is about to graduate from university. Three won’t let me go to work. My eldest daughter works part-time and the other three are studying. Usually my eldest daughter takes me to work.

She feeds all my companions along with me. They laugh and ask her why she feeds them so often. My daughter told them,‘All of you starved for me that day so I can become what I am today, pray for me that I can feed you all, every day.’ I don’t feel poor now. Who has such a child and how can he be poor? -Idris