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Our
Selected Women Empowerment Initiatives |
Case-VIII
Weaving Her Future |
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Background |
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Barkagaon
village of Arrah district is hardly 5-6 kms away from the
Arrah town. The headquarters of the district is yet undeveloped.
Most of the people of the village belonged to the backward
group and Rukmani Devi was one of them. Her husband, who was
the sole earner of her family of a son and three daughters,
died in an accident many years back. After his death, Rukmani
was not able to have a regular source of income and support.
She had her own limitations being a woman. |
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Emergence
of Idea |
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Aseed
functionaries came to know about her when they were trying
to promote Entrepreneurship Development in the area. She was
attracted towards the idea as there was hope of getting a
regular income, but she had her apprehensions, which were
removed in the group meetings conducted by the field functionaries
where women like her were persuaded for training. She was
interested to know more about the programme and had the doubts
related to funds for starting her own work after training.
The women were told in detail about this programme, which
was planned keeping all these inhibitions in mind. A convinced
Rukmani decided to join the course for acquiring the skill
of carpet making. |
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Initiation
of Action |
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Rukmani
was enrolled for the course along with 25 other women. She
learned the skill with determination, as this was the only
way left for her to support her family with dignity. After
the training was over, she met Aseed functionaries to plan
for her future. She was invited to a loan mela organized by
the local Grameen Bank to provide loan to the women at their
doorsteps. This helped Rukmani to solve her financial problem.
She was able to get a loan of Rs. 20,000 /-. She wisely used
this money to buy a loom and installed it in her house, thus
saving the cost of room rent. From her house only, she started
weaving and selling daris. |
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Generation
of Support |
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Daris
are a part of rural household. Rukmani was able to get a market
for her product, which gave her the required motivation, confidence
and of course money. Gradually, she developed interest for
the trade and the occupation. This improved the quality of
her products and her economic standard. Before the possibilities
in the local area were fully drained, with the efforts of
the Aseed's district-level functionaries, she was able to
have a tie-up with a Patna-based exporter for selling her
products. |
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Recognition |
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With
her continuous efforts, Rukmani is now able to earn enough
money to send her children to the Arrah School. The District
Magistrate awarded her as the best Entrepreneur of the year
in 2000, just three years after she joined the Aseed family.
This was the recognition of her efforts and her determination
to support her family single-handedly. She has set an example
for women who just sit and see the lives of their family get
destroyed after the death of the male earning members of the
family. |
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