By Debadutta Dash | Secretary, Sukarya USA
Manju lives in a village of Kharkhari in Mewat district of Haryana, which is 60 kms away from the City of Gurgaon. It was a huge challenge for her to come out of the village for earning a livelihood. She was married and had three kids of age 8, 9 & 10 years. It had been a struggle for her raising 3 school going children, especially when her husband, an electrician, was unable to find any job with consistent income. They could not make ends meet. Being a part of conservative rural India, where women always stay home, she was forced to carve out her own path.
She came to know about Sukarya and its women empowerment program which aims to empower rural women through self Help Groups (SHGs) and livelihood initiatives. Further she was connected with Spice and cereal processing unit (SCPU) in Sukarya Gurgaon with a goal to provide employment & learning opportunities and micro-entrepreneurship training for rural women.
She commuted 50-60 km to reach sukarya everyday. The distance never detered her motivation. She was quite smart and proactive, so she could easily grasp the new learnings. Her determination to make difference was recognized early on. She started earning Rs. 4000 for 12 days of work every month and she used her spare time for extra income by working with livestocks and animal husbandry. This regular income helped her substantially in resolving the financial problem faced by her family. She was able to lift her family out of poverty. She started having confidence to make decisions for her family, earned the respect from her in-laws and the community as well.
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