Dreams do come true

Snehalata Soren

“From being a shy homemaker, today I am not only someone who earns for their family, but also a role-model for my daughters. I have realised that I love working for people. If I can learn more and do better in life, that would be great. That’s my dream. And I am not scared to dream anymore.”

Among the 368 families living in the Abhua village (Maheshpur block, Pakur district) of Jharkhand, India, there’s one that belongs to Snehalata Soren. She lives with her husband, three daughters and a son. Snehalata recalls the days when her husband was a migrant worker in Chennai, working in factories there. “It wasn’t easy,” she says, “raising four children on my own. I was completely dependent on the money my husband used to send me from Chennai.”

In 2015, she was approached by Trickle Up to not just join a Self Help Group in her village, but also help create it. Her proactive nature got her selected into the role of a Community Resource Person (CRP) and she was to work with 23 participants from her village. From undertaking the survey to enlist the households living in poverty to conducting interactive processes to identify the ultra-poor participants, she was part of the entire process.

“The participants were extremely apprehensive to join Self Help Groups. They were scared that if they took loans and were unable to repay it, they might even end up getting jailed! It took us a lot of time to convince them to join Self Help Groups, and regular meetings to start happening. Then I started taking the issues from the village to the larger group during monthly meetings with other cadres. The participants felt heard, they felt someone was giving them attention,” she recalls.

However, it wasn’t until 2016 when Trickle Up and TATA Communications came together with project MPowered, that the situation got easier for Snehalata, in terms of coordinating with the participants. Her leadership skills and enthusiasm to learn new things, made her an easy choice for a Smart Sakhi (a digital coach) for this project working on Mobile Connections to Promote Women’s Economic Development. Her role expanded from being the CRP and she adjusted well!

“When I was chosen as a Smart Sakhi, the situation became much better. None of us had ever even dreamt of owning a mobile phone, let alone smart phones that operate on touch! The feeling of owning a smartphone completely changed the attitude of the project participants. Not only did they become more regular to the meetings, but they were happier to do so, knowing that they needed to be consistent to keep being part of the program. It became much easier for me to coordinate among the 23 participants that I am responsible for, and the two self help groups that they are part of. When I started teaching them how to use the mobile application (Packets of Practices) for disciplined farming, it helped them produce better from the same piece of land where they were not being able to make any profit from before. Being able to see how to take the measurements and follow the instructions in such detail every time they need it, and being able to reach out to me whenever they need help, has been the biggest advantage for them,” she talks about her journey.

When asked how her smartphone has helped her, she smiles.

“Let me just tell you one thing. We use the phone to contact the doctor. We use it to call the car owner, the car comes to our village and takes us to the doctor. This is the first time in our lives that we are getting medical attention on time. Being a mother of four children, this is my biggest relief.”

Snehalata has undergone many capacity building programs as a participant, but for her the most helpful ones have been the ones on livestock rearing and care. She has chosen to raise livestock and also grow organic vegetables in her kitchen garden as her own sustainable livelihood options. With the help of the mobile application, she has also learnt to use organic fertilisers.

How has life changed for Snehalata?

“First things first, my husband has come back home. My children now have two parents to look after them. Coming to myself, I have changed a lot. I have money always. I don’t have to sell things to get money in emergency, I can always borrow from the group. I have not studied much, but I have so much after becoming a participant. Not only can I speak Hindi fluently, but I am not scared of public speaking anymore. I am a confident person. From being a shy homemaker, today I am not only someone who earns for their family, but also a role-model for my daughters. I have realised that I love working for people. If I can learn more and do better in life, that would be great. That’s my dream. And I am not scared to dream anymore,” she is radiant.

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