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Living undercover, Kavita moves into a neighbourhood where almost half the families survive on benefits, and is shocked when she realises she'll have to survive on jobseekers allowance.
"It's just over £8 a day, £8, gosh when you break it down into per day it's shocking. I don't think I've ever been in a position where I've just had £8 a day, ever. What I can't understand is don't they see that by doing something they can get more than £8 per day. They must be able to do something – so why aren't people going out working. God I've got shoes that are £500 – that is sick"
Kavita's mission doesn't start well, the projects she finds are closed and when she does find one and tries to call them to arrange to volunteer every phonebox she comes across is broken. It's a frustrating first day for a woman used to performing at the highest level.
After early disappointment Kavita finally finds voluntary work at The Ladywood Furniture Project run by Conor Barry. The Project supplies second hand furniture to people on benefits. Working in the showroom cleaning the furniture, Kavita meets a young mother referred to the project by social services.
Sian left her home in Wales at 15 when her mother was dying, and has lived in Birmingham ever since. She's now been allocated a flat in a tower block and the Furniture Project is her only chance of furnishing a whole flat on a very limited budget.
Growing up in a close-knit Indian family, Kavita is upset by Sian's story and realises how fortunate she's been to have grown up with a supportive family around her:
"Sian's story was absolutely shocking, I just find it really strange to find these children are out there on their own at such an early age. It's quite a lot different in Asian families, the support networks are there, my mother was always there, I've always had parental support."
Desperate to find out what else is being done to help Ladywood's most vulnerable residents, Kavita volunteers at Karis, a small community charity that provides a helping hand to anyone in need. When she joins forces with 21-year-old project administrator Harry Naylor and a party of Karis volunteers to help clean out Colin's flat in a local tower block, the realities of life in Ladywood begin to sink in.
"When I see the way Colin lives and the way I live, again you just thank God you're not in this situation. I can see now why there's all these other issues that start from the root of not having money, the depression, the loneliness and more debt and it's just all a big cycle…"
Spurred on by this new understanding, Kavita's mission leads her to Sisters with Voices, a project aimed at educating young women on the sorts of problems teenage girls have.
Ladywood has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the country and is just one of the things Sisters with Voices aims to change though workshops and by using voluntary mentors to encourage the girls. Founded by Olivia and run by project co-ordinator Janicka, Kavita joins the group as a potential mentor to learn more about what they do.
As her time undercover ticks away, Kavita's thoughts turn to who she'll help.
"I thought it was going to be really difficult to give away the budget I have in mind – but I think as I've progressed I probably need a lot more"
As her ten day mission draws to a close, Kavita comes to realize just how indebted she is to her own family, and after being away from them for longer than normal, a simple phone call home is appreciated more than ever.
She is particularly grateful to her mother, who fought against the conservatism of her Asian background to ensure that Kavita had a good education and the opportunities to become a career woman. A chat with Sisters with Voices founder, Olivia, reminds her of this and, after hearing the story of how Olivia's mum worked as a cleaner to push her through education, Kavita breaks down.
"When I was listening to Olivia, I thought I was listening to myself, I thought this is me, that's why I am where I am now it's because of my mum. She did sacrifice a hell of a lot…"
In a series of highly emotional goodbyes Kavita hands out cheques for tens of thousands of pounds and, as she returns home, she realises how much her undercover mission has taught her.
"I think the last ten days has taught me so many different things – what I've learnt is to feel good I don't necessarily have to go out and buy lots of expensive things. Definitely more to life than money, there's a lot of things out there I think I've really missed out on."
Intro | About Kavita | About the programme | Interview | Music
