Jeeva, a 45 years old woman living in Sankarapuram, is a councellor of her village.
Though she studied up to sixth class, she is empowered socially and economically through the intervention of the project development activities supported by Humanium in her village.
Now, Jeeva is a member of Om Sakthi self-help group. She proudly says, “We are the first self-help group members in our village. We trained in self-help group concept, credit activities, personal hygiene, etc”.
Due to continuous awareness meetings, she decided to construct toilets. She states “When my neighbours are hesitating to construct toilet facilities, I took a loan and constructed a toilet in my small house. It was a motivating factor for other women in my village. Certainly, it helps us to maintain sanitation and personal hygiene for my family members”.
For the past year, Jeeva has been a member of the Village Development Committee. She is very proud of attending the Government official meetings in order to discuss the revenue and expenditure of her villages. Now, officers are ready to discuss with her the local issues. People are coming to get signature from her to apply old age pension scheme and other Government welfare schemes. Through her support, the local school received electricity facility, table, chair, cabinets and other supplies.
She appreciates the help, in her words: it “is an excellent project and it is to be replicated in nearby villages, as we benefited.”