Poor who use private facilities use different coping strategies
(viz. a viz. those who use public)
Poor respondents who used private facilities were more likely
to report having borrowed money on interest or selling assets.
This was the case, for example, for the following respondent
who reported total expenditures of Rs. 26 500:
‘‘He (my brother) owns land, which he mortgaged. We paid the
money that we got after mortgaging the land. Even today I don’t
have any money saved. I roll cigarettes every day and earn
money from this. But I spend this money on medicines.’’
(Respondent 16)
Key differences in coping strategies between urban and
rural poor
In the in-depth interviews, respondents from rural areas were
more likely to report having borrowed from family members,
while those in urban areas were more likely to have borrowed
from friends or employers. The following urban respondent, for
example, borrowed from neighbours:
‘‘I borrowed some money from my neighbours . . . And we don’t
even have much income so that we can save (to repay this loan).
Our neighbours are our best friends . . . We have not been here for
long, however they have been very helpful.’’ (Respondent 4)
In several cases, the rural poor reported selling or mortgaging
land in order to cope with the costs of hospitalization (e.g.
respondents 16 and 18) while some urbanites reported selling
other assets:
‘‘Sister, what can people like us do? She (Respondent 3) had two
gold earrings, and I had to sell off one of these. I got 1400 rupees
for the earring.’’ (Spouse of respondent 3)
Key differences in coping strategies among recent migrants
Recent migrants to urban areas were less likely than permanent
residents to report borrowing from relatives. For example, the
following two respondents, both long-term residents of
Vadodara city, borrowed from family:
‘‘My brother helped me a lot. I bought medicines with the money I
borrowed from him.’’ (Respondent 8)
‘‘We told my cousin about her (Respondent 11’s) hospitalization
and he immediately came over. I told him that I would need some
money, so he went back and arranged for money.’’ (Spouse of
respondent 11)
In contrast, the following respondents, who had recently
migrated to Vadodara city, used other coping strategies:
‘‘We don’t know anyone here, so who would give us money? . . . All
our relatives are back at our village . . . So we had to sell our
belongings.’’ (Respondent 3)
‘‘I cook at someone’s home. I asked this employer for money to
pay for my hospital expenses. They were very helpful . . . Our
employers are (like) our relatives. Our real relatives are far away
so they (the employers) are the ones who help us first.’’
(Respondent 5)