CASE STUDY: STRUGGLE OF A WIDOW

Ratan Ben Gopal Bhai Suther is a widow. She has three young children and lives in Rapar Khokra Village. In the 2001’s earthquake she lost her house and her hard earned sewing machine. With no bread earner or any other means of income, the future did not look bright.

PRAYAS meet her and invited her to work in her village as a volunteer under the Human Rights Project. The work in the project rebuilt her self-confidence and gave her will to try and create a new life for her family. She joined a SHG and restarted her tailoring work with the help of a micro credit loan provided by the group. Within very short time she was able to repaid the loan.

She now plays a leading role in her village and looks after the child day-care centre and distributes information for self-help groups. She also advice her fellow village women how to deal with economic crises and participates in the village planning and decision making process through her SHG.

See also description of Socio-Economic Upliftment for Rural Women.