At the age of 13,I made up my mind to work hard for the upliftment of my village,Bahadarpur. The decision was a result of my observations of the condition of women,farmers,children and the village itself. I could sense the pain of the society I was living in. I moved to Pune after my graduation in pursuit of some solution for the problems in my village. I completed my Masters in Psychology and joined Vigyan Ashram,Pabal. For eight years,I worked there,visiting various institutions and learning the dos and donts of this line of work. I returned to Bahadarpur,but it was a challenge to start work without any monetary support. With some of my savings and support from my parents,the journey began with computer classes for women. Our projects evolved over the course of time in keeping with the needs of the villagers. They brought their challenges to us,and after several discussions,we together found solutions. We learnt how important and worthy timely help is. But it was tough to generate funds when the villagers needed it. Small contributions by supporters at that time were insufficient. So,I worked part time in other organisations,to generate money for projects as well as to cater to the basic needs of the staff. There was a period when we were on the verge of breaking down. I asked my team mates to look for jobs elsewhere. I went to Mumbai to see if I could garner support. We were lucky that Caring Friends extended their support to us and we could continue working. Challenges are never far off; fortunately,we have a strong team that works with commitment and dedication. Winning the Magsaysay Award hasn't kept challenges at bay. In fact,now people know our work,they come to us with more problems and we have to raise funds to cater to their needs. We have faced failure as well. We worked hard to start a dairy project,but due to the malfunctioning by Dairy,our partner in the project,we had to close down the project and our association with that dairy. In such a situation,the trust that people have in you is at stake. I believe it's the transparency in our work that saved us. I feel that with the help of education,the woman of today is getting stronger day by day. She is learning new skills,stepping out of her house and earning money and respect in society. But her path is not easy. She has to face many challenges at home and at work. She has to balance her professional and personal life using her inborn management skills. I urge all women,especially young girls,to see dreams for their future and follow them relentlessly till they come true. A woman is mentally strong; use this strength for yourself as well as for society and be a woman of substance.
