Helping hand- harboring hope

Women headed families / single women household families are different from poorest of the poor in terms of their needs and constraints. Absence of male support and having to live with other families or alone imposes special constraints and make them particularly vulnerable, as they get older for lack of assets.

When Sarbani Devi, 50 from Pithertoli village became a widow, the burden of looking after her family consisting of her three children came on her feeble shoulders. The small piece of land her husband owned did not help her survive through her financial needs. She used to depend solely on collecting and selling the forest produce like Mahua, tamarind, Lac etc to make a living.

“I struggled a lot to feed my children. On many days I used to starve and give leftover food to my children so that they don’t go hungry”, recounts Sarbani Devi.

She was merely curious when she attended a meeting conducted by Caritas India partner Naya Savera Vikas Kendra as a part of its Agrarian Prosperity Programme three years back in the village. One of the interventions of the programme was to offer livestock assistance to Single Women households. Understanding the poor plight of Sarbani, the villagers nominated her name for the same.

“When Naya Savera & Caritas India staff asked whether I was interested in rearing pigs for a living, I was very glad. Until then, nobody had come to offer me a favor. So I was too happy to take it up,” says Sarbani.

Initially she received 2 pigs through the programme. To equip her with livestock management skills, she taken on exposure visits and training on livestock raising from Caritas India partner Naya Savera Vikas Kendra. Now she has five pigs. After the first one gave birth, she sold them for Rs.13, 000. She regularly buys feed for the pigs, gives them proper shelter and keeps them healthy and disease free. Besides the pigs, Sarbani has bought 2 bulls and 7 goats from the profit she earned.

Since her other sons are married and settled elsewhere, all her hopes are pinned on her youngest son Jagdish Singh who is studying in high school in Palkot.  She wants to support his studies through her income and dreams of a better life for her son.