Sarita lost her husband a few years back and is raising her two children with the support of her family. When she started coming for Gyaan Ruchi sessions, she was an introverted person, who barely spoke. Her biggest desire was to have a house of her own. During the years, Gyaan Ruchi worked at Shashtri Nagar, our on-ground team worked with her, providing mental and psychological support, and a space for her to make friends and unwind. Sarita learned that she is not alone! So when her house collapsed, she was able to raise funds with community support and rebuild it.
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Neelima has always been an enterprising woman. One of the first activities Gyaan Ruchi conducted at Kishkindha was a workshop in paper bag-making. Based on our understanding, paper-bags can become an easy source of income for women who may not be able to travel too far to work for a living. Neelima attended these sessions and quickly became an expert at making bags of different shapes and sizes. On her own, she started teaching this skill to the other women in the neighbourhood. When Gyaan Ruchi saw this, we invited her to become a lead facilitator as we took this activity to other neighbourhoods.
Thus, a small activity allowed Neelima to become an agent of empowerment for many other women.
Riya, Vijaya and Diksha were some of the first women to be trained by Neelima Bhosale in paper bag-making. As soon as the Maharashtra government announced the plastic-bag ban in 2018, these three women saw an opportunity. They started liaising with shops, local vegetable vendors and groceries to sell them hand-made paper bags. Needless to say, business quickly boomed!
These three enterprising women have been successfully running this business for the past 2 years now!
One of seven sisters, Surekha was married off at a young age and had to migrate to Pune to live with her in-laws. One of the Engage activities at the neighbourhood was a drawing and discussion based on the theme What is MY dream? Like many women in her situation, Surekha’s biggest dream was a bright future for her children and her own house. Today, Surekha’s daughter works in accounting at a big IT firm in Hinjewadi. Last year, when Surekha finally got her own house, Gyaan Ruchi stepped in to be a guarantor, gaining her an additional year to pay for it.
Surekha never learned to read or write. But despite that she religiously came for all reading sessions with Gyaan Ruchi’s Travelling Trunk Library. Moreover, when we started English-speaking classes in the neighbourhood, Surekha joined in, never missing a session.
And she quickly became the teacher’s favourite because she always finished her homework!
Anganwadi teacher Supriya was the biggest supporter of Gyaan Ruchi activities in the Deccan Gymkhana neighbourhood. She is always present for sessions and often incorporates the activities Gyaan Ruchi conducts into her own classes with the Anganwadi students. Just this year, Supriya was honoured with the Best Anganwadi Teacher award by the Maharashtra State Government.
Chhaya is a born leader. She runs the local ration shop and is in-charge of the bachat-gat, a microfinance system popular in bastis and mohallas. Last year, Chhaya took things to a new level by organizing women from her neighbourhood to start a catering business. Focussing on cuisines familiar to them, the women put together a menu comprising Diwali snacks, Maharashtrian dishes and low-cost meals. Delighted by their zeal, Gyaan Ruchi spread the word about their snacks through-out our network of NGOs and socio-cultural organizations.
This helped Chhaya tai gain new customers and the sumptuous food ensured that orders were always repeated!