THE BREAD WINNER

metimes even nobly, with one person rising above the odds to become the family's provider. This person, often lauded and praised at firs

edge that one's failure is not personal-it is communal. It affects not just oneself, but siblings, parents, extended family, sometimes even an

ms. And the moment this well shows signs of running low, the applause dies. The gratitude turns to murmurs. Respect fades, often replaced b

e-only judgment and whispered gossip about how pride or poor choices ruined them. The same mouths that once cheered their every achievement now sp

often becomes the very reason the breadwinner sinks into despair. For in trying to please everyon

e desperation that led to it-the multiple jobs, the skipped meals, the loans, the tears shed alone at night

f the very people they built up are the first to abandon them. Loyalty in poverty is a myth many brea

and expectation. They cannot leave, for who will take their place? And they cannot rest, for rest is mistaken fo

ing the bitter truth of what it means to be the provider