Widowhood, especially in the Indian context, signifies disruption for not only the spouse but in the lives of the family members. Widows are strangled in the chains of centuries-old customs and stigmas. For her to unshackle those chains and rise above the stigma, requires a push, and a purpose.

“My husband, Mr. Mohan Sharma, passed away at the early age of 35, leaving me and our five children at the mercy of society”, says Ms. Renu Devi, reverberating in the room. She lives with her children in the Ekrean village of Sheikpura, Bihar. “After my husband passed, I had gone through a very tough financial patch. We had no savings as he was the only breadwinner of the family”, said Ms. Renu Devi. She had a small land. “We have nearly 10 katha of land (1 Katha = 0.01378 acres) and income from this land is not enough to sustain a big family”, described Ms. Renu Devi upon asking about her landholding.

“As time passed, our situation worsened. I could not provide even proper meals to children let alone send them to school”, said Ms. Renu Devi. Problems were all around her family. She mentioned, “My elder son, after marriage, migrated to Delhi for work with his wife, and my younger son moved to Mumbai for work. Now, I have to take care of 2 girls and a son, who are studying.”

Renu is dependent on causal labour for livelihood, as agriculture income is insufficient. She was involved with the Saksham programme through Self Help Groups (SHG). “I have attended some training by the Saksham team. Later, I joined a Kushi Mahila Kisan Samuha (SHG) group in our village and started saving on a monthly basis”, she said.

“I wanted to support my family financially in every possible way and I have discussed the same with the Saksham team and SHG group as well. This is where I thought of starting a petty shop in my home as I am at home most of the time unless some causal labour work”, said Ms. Renu Devi when talking about her routine.

Saksham’s team-oriented her on getting credit via SHG for starting her shop. “I, then, put forth my need in one SHG meeting and submitted my application for the loan to the President of Kushi SHG”. SHG member cordially accepted my loan request, and I received a ₹10,000 loan to start my own venture”, said Ms. Renu Devi with a wide smile on her face.

“I invested the received amount in setting up a small grocery shop in my village, where I can easily earn a profit somewhere between ₹300 to ₹400 per day. This money is better than working as causal labour under someone”. “With this income I can take care of the basic needs of my children for now but in the future, I want to expand this shop into a bigger shop where I can sell multiple items for which people have to go out of the village”, Ms. Renu Devi elaborated her future plan for the grocery store. “I made a habit of repaying debt through monthly instalments so that it will not become a burden in the end. I feel happy that I can support my family”, she remarked with a tone of achievement.