11 Kerala women sanitation workers hit $1.2 million jackpot after pooling money

11 women sanitation workers in Kerala, southern India, who are part of a group collecting non-biodegradable waste, pooled money to buy a lottery ticket in June and hit the jackpot worth INR100 million ($1.2 million), an amount beyond their expectations.

They typically earn INR250 a day from monthly household payments and the respective share of the money made by the local corporation by selling segregated waste.

According to the women, they struggle to make ends meet, often borrowing money for their children's education and other expenses and occasionally joining forces to buy lottery tickets, which are illegal in many Indian states.

However, Kerala's government itself runs a popular programme, while private lotteries are banned in the state.

"Once, we won a 1,000-rupee prize and shared it," says MP Radha, who usually buys tickets for the group.

The group decided to purchase a 250-rupee ticket for the monsoon bumper prize lottery last month (bumper prize lotteries are held for specific events like festivals). One of the sanitation workers, Kuttimalu, 72, says she was initially sad when Radha was collecting funds because she didn't have enough money.

"Then Cherumannil Baby (another member of the group) told me she had 25 rupees and was willing to lend me half of it for the ticket," she told the BBC.

Eventually, the two women pooled INR12.5 each for their share of the ticket while the other nine women paid INR25 each.

Kuttimalu said that she and Baby would split their shares upon winning anything but she did not expect to win a huge amount of money.

The women discovered they had won the bumper prize a day before the draw, thanks to one of the women's husbands checking the results. Radha claims that they are "fourth time lucky," as this was the fourth time they bought a lottery ticket.

Baby, 62, whose house was washed away in the devastating floods that hit Kerala in 2018 says she can't believe the group has hit the jackpot.

"Luck was never on my side," she says. She now plans to build a house and pay off her debts.

Furthermore, K Bindu, 50, who lost her husband to kidney failure last year as they were unable to afford a costly transplant said, "He used to buy lottery tickets with the money we kept for dialysis. He left us without finishing the construction of our house. I have to complete it now."

Lakshmi, 49, and her husband, a construction worker, were worried about their future with struggles due to heavy rains. After winning the lottery, they hope to use the money on their daughter's studies.

The group would receive INR63 million after paying all necessary taxes. While the rest would receive INR6.3 million apiece, Baby and Kuttimalu will split their portion of the money equally.

"Apart from collecting waste, the women also help construct public toilets and install facilities for disposing of waste," says KT Balabhaskaran, director of the Suchitwa Mission, the agency which coordinates these efforts across the state.

The women resumed their work as sanitation workers on Friday, a day after their life-changing win, at the agency's office like always.

"We decided one thing," Leela says. "We will not leave this job because it was this collective that brought us prosperity."