Shalini Bhartiya

“A mother is like a flower, each one is beautiful and unique.”

Mother is called another face of God because whenever there is a problem in the family or children, the mother fights against every problem without looking at her own problems. Whether she is educated or not, she does every possible effort for the family. This case study is also about a mother, who resides in subproject- PRN in Prayagraj Naini and how she has fought for her family, despite all odds life threw at her.

Shalini Bhartiya is a mother of a sponsored child Shreya Bhartiya. There are 6 members in her family including Shalini and Shreya. Currently, Shreya is studying in class 12th. Her dream is to become a successful teacher. Shreya has two sisters and one brother. Shreya started getting sponsorship support in 2011 and since then Shalini, has been a regular participant in all CFCA activities.

Her life took a drastic turn when her husband Mr. Agam’s health started deteriorating. He was working as a laborer and Shalini was a housewife taking care of her family and children. Shalini’s family belongs to a rural village where, male folks were the decision makers in the family. Women or girls were neither allowed to work or study. Girls were married off as early as 13-14 years of age. So when her husband’s health started depleting, little did she know what to do.

Different people started giving different advices according to the rural set up,  environment and the way of thinking and she tried all methods but to no avail. One day during the CFCA SMG meeting the mothers and staff members advised her to take her husband to a good hospital to which she agreed. She visited the hospital twice with the help of the CFCA community members and staff. That hospital was situated in Prayagraj city which is 19 km far from her village and the cost of local transportation was also very high for her to bear.

When she came back home from the hospital, she sat alone and started thinking that if she takes her husband to this hospital once in a week, then the expenses of transportation will be high. And if so how would she be able to feed her family without a job or any financial support. That’s when she decided to buy a cycle so that she could take her husband to the hospital, and save transportation cost.

Her next worry was how to feed her family and meet their expense, now that husband couldn’t go for work. So one day when she came to the hospital in Prayagraj city, she saw so many women selling vegetables and fruits in the city. Then she thought that if she also brings vegetables from the big market at a wholesale rate and sells it in the near by villages, then she will earn some money in the morning and evening and at the same time she can take care of the children in the afternoon. She discussed this thought with the community members and CFCA staff. Everyone appreciated her idea. After which she took a loan from her SMG and purchased some vegetables and carried it on her bicycle.

Her business started running smoothly, but now since more vegetables were needed and in demand, bringing them from the market on a bicycle was difficult. That’s when she heard about one relative of hers who was selling his Moped (A type of motor bicycle/scooter). She purchased this second-hand Moped by taking a loan from SMG. She learned to ride a Moped and after a few days, she started carrying all the vegetables on the Moped. Now, she is selling vegetables and through this hard work, she is taking care of her family’s livelihood, children’s education, and also taking care of her husband’s health.

Shalini is heartily very thankful to CFCA/Unbound and community members who stood with her through the thick and thin and also supported her to stand strong amidst her challenges.