Our front door neighbors

Across the street from our house, there is another house being built. For the past few months, we have seen this house go from being a hole in the ground to a huge structure. Towards the back of the plot, there is a small temporary structure and a family lives there. This is a migrant family and both the husband and wife help with the construction of the house and at night, they sleep there. They have two young children around 1 and 3 years old. Very cute children and it's amazing to see how the little 1 year old survives in the harsh environment. Our immune systems cannot even compare to that that little 1 year old's. Everyday when I pass by, I look at them and they stare back at me. I'm not sure why I stare at them but I have this inane curiousity of how they live. Unlike in the US, in India, you have a daily reminder of how much disparity there is between us and folks like the family across the street. The children will not be able to go school, the parents move from constructing one house to another and do not have the means to register their child at a new school every 8 months or so. I remember one weekend, they were building the roof and there were many other construction families that joined them with their children. These were much olderchildren, 7-12 year olds and a few of them were helping with the construction. I was asking my neighbors if this could be labelled as child labour and they said, the kids have to be there with their parents and they help out rather that sitting idle. I am not sure how clearly the lines are drawn. There are a few places where schools have been opened for migrant children but 95% of the time, I don't think they get that opportunity. The children don't have shoes, they have torn clothing but they look healthy so I think they are eating well. We give them food from time to time and Sindhu and Rushil have given them some of their toys. Everyday, we're reminded of how much we have materially and still don't think it's enough. I wonder if after living here for a year or more, I will not longer be bothered by this. The most amazing thing is that they are all happy, probably happier than we are so who am I to feel sorry for them because ultimately, are we all not striving for happiness in the end?