Empower deserted women and widows in rural India

Friends,

The help of only about $ 83 from your side gave Babytai an opportunity to upscale and also diversify her business. It took all of $ 83 loan amount to register a net profit of $ 42 in the very first few months of the loan. The graph has started picking up.

Babytai is a 60 year old widow whose husband expired due to a paralytic attack. It was more or less a hand to mouth existence with the burden of bringing up and educating her two daughters and one son.

Doing odd jobs, working also as a daily wage labourer, Babytai was hard put to make ends meet. In between she started selling vegetables. She used to carry a basket full of vegetables on her head, travelling on foot, going house to house to market her goods.

Apart from her own village, she used to visit nearby 3-4 villages about 4-5 kms away, to find new customers, sometimes on foot and sometimes taking a passenger vehicle. At the most, Rs.100 ($ 1.66) would be the highest amount earned through this mobile business.

She had an old broken cart which could have been pushed manually. But it needed expensive repairs and it stayed put.

With the support of just $ 83, which came along because of Global Giving, she first had the cart repaired and bought many other things to reduce her dependence on vegetables which were perishables.

The wheels started moving. With her wares on the cart, she could make rounds of her own village and in double quick time. There was space for more variety of vegetable. Lastly, but important, the customers could stand and buy the vegetables needed which was a faster and preferred mode rather than the basket where she always needed help to upload on her head and download to the ground.

Part of this help was also used for buying new capital goods. Her diversification of business brought in new customers like young children and youth who wanted chocolates, biscuits and ready made snacks.

Very soon this new wing of her business was set as a small shop at her house and she taught her daughter-in-law to look after it.

Her faster and easy access to customers, her diversified business, now even allowed her time to still work in the field to earn income as a daily wage labourer.

The wheels have indeed started moving.

Friends, there might be a feeling sometime that the help given is like a drop in the ocean – insignificant. NO. Let me assure you that each and every help from your side, either big or small, triggers cumulative positives which result in very significant and relevant impact to people’s lives - where it really matters !

We remain upbeat about the steady donations coming in from your side. Thanks a lot and do keep visiting us with your friends on <http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/empower-deserted-women-and-widows-in-rural-india/,>.  We are also accessible on <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chetana-Vikas/162861643736214.>

Thank you again !

Warm Regards,

Niranjana Maru

Project Leader