Life had become particularly agonising for 23-year-old Poonam Sunil Solanke who had lost her husband three years back. In the face of rejection and stigmatisation of family and village community, Poonam had to do something exceptional to stay alive and to raise her two little children.

“We had taken Rs. 50,000 (€600) from local moneylenders for cultivating soybean and cotton. In the year 2019, crops failed because of drought. We did not have money even to feed ourselves, so we could not pay off the loans. My husband was distressed over his inability to get food for the children and the mounting debt took a toll on him”, Poonam narrated how the tragedy broke loose on her family. Tortured by his inability to earn a living, Poonam’s husband Sunil committed suicide by consuming pesticides on 21 July 2019.

“I was blamed for the death of my husband and I was branded as a deranged and characterless woman”, the 23-year-old widow narrated the horror that unfolded in her life.

However, she was determined to live for the sake of her two children – a four-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son. “I didn’t know how I would survive. Raising two kids alone with no support is a huge responsibility”, Poonam described how she restarted her life. “Life was a big, scary question mark for me. How will I feed my children? How will I educate them? How will I get a roof for me and my children?

How will I pay back the loan? Will this world allow me to live as a widow? These questions haunted me”, Poonam added.

“I knew that I had to fight and live for the sake of my little children. My destiny has been cruel but I need to give a better life to my children. For feeding my children I started working as a wage labourer in the day and made earthen pots in the morning and evening”, Poonam narrated how she struggled to keep the hearth burning. Poonam supplemented her income from wage labour and pottery with the earning from the household works that she did in the neighbourhood. “It was difficult for me to go to work because my children were too small to be left alone at home. Most of the days I took them to workplace; on other days I left them with a neighbour family”, Poonam said.

In the year 2021, Poonam came in touch with Samarth project team which has been helping women-headed households to start income generation activities and access government welfare services. “The frequent and friendly visits of Samarth team helped me become more positive. I also managed to recover from the shock. I started thinking positively and I found a new hope in life”, Poonam described how life started to get better.

“Since my children were very young, I could not think of starting any livelihood which would take me away from home. Therefore, I decided to start a tailoring shop. But I had no house of my own”, Poonam said. Samarth team contacted her relatives seeking their support to settle Poonam down with a small business. One of her uncles offered to give a small room to Poonam to start the tailoring centre. Poonam along with her two children moved to Pathrot village in Amravati to start living at her uncle’s place. Samarth team helped Poonam with an initial investment of Rs. 8,000 (€80) to start the tailoring unit. She started the tailoring unit and named it ‘Aanchal Tailoring Centre’ after her daughter whose name is Aanchal.

“It was a small beginning. I did not earn much in the first few months. I did not lose hope”, Poonam narrated the initial struggles of her business. “Fortunately, the business started picking up and now I earn a daily profit of Rs. 250 (€3) which is just sufficient for me and my children to start our life afresh”, Poonam said.

Even though she had studied until Class XII, she did not know about government schemes that are available for widows. Samarth team informed her about the schemes that she is eligible for and linked her with widow pension scheme under which she receives monthly pension of Rs. 1,100 (€14). Since Poonam does not have her own house, Samarth team helped her apply successfully for government assistance for constructing a house under Prime Minister Housing Scheme. Her house is under construction in Devri village from where she came to live at her uncle’s home. The new business brought a fresh lease of life to her children as well. Both children have been enrolled in local schools.

“I am relatively free of stress and tensions. Society had stigmatised me and branded me as a woman with bad character. I could not celebrate any festival or participate in social gatherings. Fortunately, things have changed. Ever since I started the small business, I feel I have more acceptance in the society”, Poonam said with confidence and optimism.

“Economic self-reliance is very empowering for a woman. It is a good feeling to be independent. I am very happy that I can take care of my children with my own income”, Poonam said with a satisfied smile.