Make Women in Rural India Financially Secure

Leela works as an Anganwadi (Government run day-care center) Instructor working hard to support her household along with her husband who works for a marketing company, though only earning a very meager wage. As the primary earner for the family, the burden on Leela’s shoulders is heavy.

They have a 15-year-old son, but, to help support his parents, he quit his education after 9^th Grade, and left to work as a daily labourer in the southern-west Indian city of Pune, nearly a 1,000 kms away from Udaipur.

Leela lives with her in-laws, and this joint family structure was not helpful to her. Because her husband earns only a small wage, her in-laws put a lot of pressure on her to look after them as well. She wanted to have an independent life for her and her family, so one day, she decided to construct a separate family home. She took a loan from a local lender, but eventually ran out of money before the home was completed. Luckily, there was a Seva Mandir run Self Help Group (SHG) for women in Leela’s village, and she contacted them to help her complete her home.

Seva Mandir helps women organize themselves into Self-help Groups that give them financial independence to help their families avoid or escape from debt. They also serve as a forum for women to tackle social and legal issues which affect their daily lives.

She became a member and started taking part in the meeting and joining the other women members in adding some savings to the group, whilst saving some for her family too. In November 2016, she took a loan from her SHG and finished the construction of her home.

Leela feels complete now she has her own family home; “Now I live in my own house and my son is on the verge of finishing his schooling and if required, I am willing to take more loans for his higher education. I am very thankful to Seva Mandir and everyone in my SHG as they all supported me during my financial crisis. My husband is also able to earn a higher wage now, which helps the family in meeting day to day expenses.”

Without your support none of this would be possible, so a heartfelt thank you goes out to you for supporting our efforts in empowering women. The empowerment and autonomy of women are essential for the achievement of sustainable development.

Thank you once again. We hope to receive your continued support.

Warm wishes,

Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir Team

Follow us on www.facebook.com/sevamandir

Links:

• Seva Mandir's Website
• Seva Mandir's Facebook Page