By Atul Lekhra | Manager, Online Donor Communication
Today I would like you to meet Kukli who has the courage to stand up against the adverse situations in her life and carve out a niche for herself.
As the sole earner of her household, Kukli of MohunDugri village in southern Rajasthan, has faced hardships through most of her married life. Due to unfortunate circumstances, she alone has to take care of her family’s needs. “My husband is an alcoholic and does not contribute to household expenditure at all,” she tells.
But Kukli did not complain and wanted to stand on her own to live life for herself and her two children. She became associatedwith one of the Seva Mandir’s self-help groups that was operating in her in her village and took a loan of Rs. 10,000 to get a water pipeline connection to her fields.
The water connection was a significant step towards prosperity.Soon she was able to grow vegetables on her farm, which otherwise was not possible because of the lack of water supply to her field. She is now able to sell her vegetables to the nearby markets. Her situation has improvedso much, in fact, that the loan Kukli took was paid off with interest in a short time.
Traditional moneylenders charge huge interest rates that these poor people are unable to pay off – even over a long period of time.Whereas, self help groups are able to offer loans at a significantly lower rate. Today Over 10,000 women just like Kukli are associated with 612 self help groups, providing them a sense of security and a reason to believe in themselves.
Kukli, who previously was often looked down upon or even beaten by her drunken husband whenever she asked for household expenses , is now a financially empowered women inspiring hundreds of women like her in the village.
“Now , I am not dependent on anybody for my existence,” says a proud Kukli.“I can take care of my children and can send them to school. ”We at Seva Mandirhelp build the confidence of such women like Kukli and this would have not been possible without your support.
On this Diwali, we on behalf of Seva Mandir’s team, would like to thank you for trusting in our work and letting us continue our critical work in the most disadvantageous communities of India.
Please write to us with your comments and feedback at atul.lekhra@sevamandir.org .
Warm Regards
Atul Lekhra
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