Make Women in Rural India Financially Secure

Sheela, a mother of 5, is a homemaker and the primary caregiver for her children. Her husband works as a waiter at marriage functions in Udaipur, and has to stay away from his village for 15 or more days at a stretch. So, the responsibility of taking caring of her children is solely on her, while her husband works away from home. It is very difficult for her to manage all the household chores and also take care of her children all alone. But she is somehow managing everything at once.

Sheela is a member of one of the SHG (Self Help Groups) in her community. At one point of time in the past Sheela’s husband did not receive his paycheck on time and therefore could not come home. This made if very difficult for Sheela to look after her children and buy food for them. The situation got so bad  that she ran out of sundries and food entirely. 

She then went directly to the only option available to her; her SHG group. The group gave her an immediate loan of Rs. 500 ($7) to buy much needed food for her hungry children. For most people, this loan is a very small amount, but it was life-saving for Sheela and her children.

Sheela explains; ‘It’s just a small amount but it saved my children’s lives by providing help when I needed it the most.’

The SHGs empower women, especially in the direst of situations, to stay in control of their own lives, maintain their dignity, and provide for their family.

With your help, we at Seva Mandir were able to bring all these women together, make them aware of the benefits of becoming self-sufficient and help them form these loan groups which can empower them. Without your support none of this would have been possible, so a heartfelt thank you goes out to you for supporting our efforts in empowering women. The empowerment and autonomy of women is essential for achieving sustainable development.

We are excited to share with you that we are participating in GlobalGiving’s Little by Little Campaign, which will run from 04^th to 08^th April 2022. It is a five-day crowdfunding campaign. All eligible donations of up to $50 will be matched at 50% during the campaign.

We need your support once again to help us get matching funds, which will then help us reach out to more women in need. For only $50, you can help train 3 rural women in financial literacy and basic entrepreneurial skills.

Your donation will build a brighter future for these underprivileged women. Thank you once again.

Regards

Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir team

Links:

• Seva Mandir's Website
• Seva Mandir's Facebook Page
• Seva Mandir's Friends Chapter in USA

A very Happy Women’s Day to everyone! The day celebrates the achievements and contributions of women in different spheres.

Women’s contribution is critical for the development of any nation. In our work area (south Rajasthan) women play a major role in sustaining families and communities, in addition to their domestic responsibilities. However, they face discrimination at all levels and are considered at low pedestal in the society.  

Covid-19 pandemic further increased the pressure on women. As the migrants returned to their villages, their family income was affected. The children were at home for a long time as all institutions- schools and pre-school centres were closed. Therefore, the workload on women increased more than before.  Moreover, cases of domestic violence were also on rise. 

During this critical time, we at Seva Mandir ensured to extend all kind of support to the women to cope with the difficult situation.

For last 53 years, Seva Mandir has been working on social and financial development of women in the rural and tribal communities. Many interventions like livelihood support, training on advanced farming practices, setting value chain, raising awareness on digital and financial literacy, reducing drudgery, improving maternal health, sensitizing communities on gender equality etc. are under implementation to raise the status of women. 

One such women is Dharni who took the opportunity to improve the wellbeing of herself and her family.

Dharni lives in village Aad with her 3 children and husband. They are dependent on agriculture for livelihood.

Dharni as a member of SHG group (Self Help Group) in her village was linked with livelihood activities. She associated with the floriculture intervention and received advanced farming trainings by Seva Mandir on use of organic manure, nursery bed preparation, etc. Encouraged Dharni cultivated marigold and rose flowers on her land.  She received good harvest and earned Rs. 51,000 ($660) from selling the flowers in the market.

She happily says

"I spent money for renovation work of the house, saved some for children and used rest to buy groceries for the family."

Through floriculture, she could generate twice more than what she used to get from practicing traditional farming.

We would like to thank you for your support to enableus empower women and making them financially aware and self-dependent.  

We do hope that you continue to extend your support to uplift less privileged women in the world.

Best Wishes

Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir Team

Links:

• Seva Mandir's Website
• Seva Mandir's Facebook Page
• Seva Mandir's Friends Chapter in USA