Economic Growth India Project #27453

Empowering Rural Women

by Sukarya

Project Report | Sep 4, 2019
Success story: Sukarya Women Self Help Groups

By DEBADUTTA DASH | Secretary, Sukarya USA

Rukshana has worked for Sukarya for 10 years as a Village Coordinator and was one of the founder members of Khushaal Women’s Self Help Group. She has shown commitment, reliability and dedication both to Sukarya and the community in which she works. For the past few years Rukshana has also been teaching women within her community how to grind, pack and label cereals and spices. She also helps in SHG capacity building by training other women how to work as micro-entrepreneur using their savings through regular inter-loaning SHG activity and how to avail bank loans through the bank linkages developed for the SHG. She is the main co-ordinator for our recently launched project, she distributes the work among these women, providing them with extra income, independence and confidence.

Rukshana, 46, is the eldest of 6 children. Married at the age of 21 through an arranged marriage, she lived with her husband for just one week before the trouble began. During that time her husband demanded more dowry from her family. He told Rukshana that he would only live with her if she could arrange this extra money which she couldn't. Unable to re-marry due to her cultural bindings, this is where she has remained ever since. She now lives alone after both of her parents passed away and all her brothers and sisters were settled. Despite all these challenges, Rukshana has dedicated her life to helping her family members with their education and well being. She is an integral part of the community in which she lives, demonstrating independence and resilience and acting as a great role model for other women.

“For under-privileged women like us, it is very difficult to raise capital for any production activity as the indigenous money lenders charge very high rate of interest. We are thankful to Sukarya to help us with the training and post training assistance to set up village outlets and production units for cereals, spices and pickles. The SHG members enjoy the profit of their hard work by keeping the capital in a cash or kind mode for re-investment purpose".

DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE
‘I want to help others and especially help my brother's children in completing their education.’
MESSAGE
‘Always meet your challenge and if God closes one door he will open another. Do not lose your courage.’
EXPECTATION
‘I love to stand on my own two feet and help others to live with self respect.’

-- Ruksana from Khushhaal SHG [Self-Help Group]

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Jun 10, 2019
Report IX: Tenacious Journey of Manju

By Debadutta Dash | Secretary, Sukarya USA

Mar 11, 2019
Report VIII: ASPIRING MICRO-ENTREPRENEUR

By Debadutta Dash | Secretary, Sukarya USA

Aspiring to become Micro Entrepreneur – Story of Mudra

She does not seem to be tired after traveling almost 50 km all the way from Kharkhari Village, in Haryana, to Gurugram to learn micro business skills at Sukarya’s Spice & Cereal Processing Unit (SCPU). The vertical is specifically dedicated for women empowerment of rural self help group women.

“It is very hard for women to step out from the village and travel to such a big distance. My family has hardly allowed me to go out” says, Mudra, who is determined to become a micro entrepreneur in spice and cereal processing business. Having 3 children to look after, her husband is a daily wage earner and always struggles to get regular work.”The earning I receive while learning at Sukarya helps me support my children in studies and also manage household expenses as my husband always finds it difficult to bear multiple expenses”, further adds, Mudra. Her strong dedication and firm aspiration has been a source of motivation for her three colleagues who hail from the same village.

She has managed to rebuild her life through becoming a Self-Help Group(SHG) member. For the sake of their self respect and earning her livelihood, she always showed a deep interest in learning and capacity building activities to the SHG members by Sukarya. She became an active member of the SHG in handling bookkeeping and recording inter loaning/accounts. She had a sharp mind in accounts and marketing out of the Institutional Training modules at Sukarya Learning and Processing Center in Gurgaon. Through Sukarya imparting their skill based training for income generation like Fortified Atta, cereals, spices, pickle for better understanding of entrepreneurial skills, forward and backward linkages. She now prefers to devote more time to her business of managing a small village outlet of the processing center products to earn her livelihood.

“Mudra didi (sister) runs through our homes in the morning and push us to get ready to attend office at Sukarya. We have strong bonding now, and this helps us easily travel the long distance”, narrates Babita, her colleague at SCPU.

The small group of 4 rural SHG women has completed three months in spite of multiple barriers – social, Cultural and a long distance to reach the office. These women have become motivation for rest of the village, especially for women.

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