Thomas Doe
Social WorkerNulla totam rem metus nunc hendrerit ex voluptatum deleniti laboris, assumenda suspendisse, maecenas malesuada morbi a voluptate massa! Hendrerit, egestas.
Nulla totam rem metus nunc hendrerit ex voluptatum deleniti laboris, assumenda suspendisse, maecenas malesuada morbi a voluptate massa! Hendrerit, egestas.
Rangalata Chhatria
“I want to build a house for my family and myself. I always think that my children’s lives should not replicate mine. They must have a chance at a better life, a bright future and I am going to enable them to do that. I never went to school, but they will.”
Rangalata came to the village of Beherabahal from Ailabhata about nine years ago after she got married. Beherabahal, a small village in the Bongomunda block of Balangir district in Odisha was very prone to distress migration. Families would migrate to the village of Raipur where both partners would work as daily wage labourers in the fields and try to earn their sustenance. However, not only was the amount they managed to earn not enough to have a comfortable life, but also pushed them to living in ultra-poverty.
Once their elder son (now seven years old) was born, it became even more difficult for the husband and wife duo to continue migrating for work, as well as to sustain the family of three. The struggle continued till in 2015, Trickle Up started working in their village to uplift households living in ultra-poverty. After being chosen as a project participant, Rangalata became a part of the Self Help Group formed in the village called “Nari Shakti.” It was not easy for her to save even INR 10 every week, but with a lot of encouragement from the field staff, Rangalata was able to see the bigger picture and tried her best to save up.
When in 2016 Trickle Up partnered TATA Communications for the M-Powered project, Rangalata was eligible to become a participant. As a participant, she was entitled to a smartphone and a seed grant of INR 3000. This smartphone was preloaded with an application developed by called the Package of Practices (PoP). This application was a ready reference on agricultural practices and helped her to adopt agriculture as a livelihood option.
“Today, we are being able to eat and sell our produce as well. Now I have two children, two boys. The younger one is three years old and goes to the Anganwadi. There the didi (anganwadi worker) keeps telling us how important it is for him to have nutritious food at this age. They tell me how critical the age group of 0-6 years is for children’s development and I feel happy that I am being able to provide that for him,” the mother is clearly relieved.
Rangalata’s husband now has stopped migrating and works as a mason. Every day, after consumption and sale of the produce from her piece of land, Rangalata earns about INR 200-300. From this, she has even saved up some money to buy a goat, to expand her livelihood options. The rest of the money is spent on household expenditures and most importantly, on her children’s education.
As the project commenced, Rangalata showed promise and a great deal of interest in learning how to operate the smartphone and turned out be the fastest learner in her village. She soon graduated to become a “Smart Sakhi” or a digital coach for her fellow participants. “I feel great about myself when I can help the other participants to understand the PoP and use it properly. I never thought I could become a trainer! People come to me for advice when they face any problems. I feel quite important. My husband also tries to help us solve the issues we face. Else the field staff can always be contacted whenever we have a query that cannot be solved by anybody else,” the thirty year old smiles as she tries to get hold of her naughty children, vying for her attention.
Her dreams have started to become bigger. Becoming a Smart Sakhi has boosted her self-confidence and Rangalata feels that she can do more with her life. “I want to have a nutrition garden in my backyard, and also expand the area of agriculture so that I can grow more crops. I have started to think about owning a business, though I am still not sure what it will be for. I want to build a house for my family and myself. I always think that my children’s lives should not replicate mine. They must have a chance at a better life, a bright future and I am going to enable them to do that. I never went to school, but they will,” she is sure of herself.
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