The empowered women empower families and in turn empower the society. Same goes with the story of 34 years old Neema Devi.

Neema Devi in spite of belonging to a small village Chapri, has completed her education till 10^th standard. This shows not only her hard-work but her dedication to excel in life. Neema’s husband is a tailor and earns nearly 600-800 per day. Neema stays in a joint family with her 3 daughters and taking care of such a large family has always been a great responsibility.

Determined to help her husband and family, Neema was firm to do something of her own. Her determined and focused approach led her to look for options that could bring stability in her life. It is then she became a member of ‘Dashmata’ Self Help Group (SHG) under Hindustan Zinc Sakhi Project.

“Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world…” – Hilary Clinton

Neema has now been associated with Sakhi project for more than a year. With the aim to start something of her own, she took a loan of Rs. 10,000/- from her Village Organization (VO).

Today Neema has opened her own Kirana store.  With the help of her shop, she is earning Rs. 3,000 – 4,000 every month. All this while her family, especially her 3 daughters have supported her in setting up her own business.

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“Hindustan SHG has given me hopes to grow further and help my family. I don’t have to worry about the economic conditions of my family anymore…”, Neema said, smiling with moist eyes.

The women of the SHGs in her village, plan and form groups, when they need to file petitions and appeals directly to the Sarpanch. This shows their escalated empowerment levels.

Sakhi Project has helped Neema in living a much more confident, living a happy & dignified life.

The Sakhi program promotes sustainable women run grassroots institutions like Self Help Groups (SHGs) to act as vehicles for empowerment. The program is geared to mobilize rural women and invest in developing their capacities around leadership, skill development, savings and entrepreneurship.