From Poverty to Possibilities
Mother and Daughter Help Secure Their Family’s Future
A few years ago, Laxmi and her husband were struggling to provide food and shelter for their son and daughter. They live in the Colaba slum community and worked cleaning prawns and selling fish. But, the work was seasonal and their income wasn’t reliable. It was a challenge to meet their family’s basic needs, much less to cover expenses for their children’s education.
Everything changed in 2012 when Laxmi and her daughter, Mayuri, became involved with Wide Horizons For Children’s Community Development and Child Sponsorship programs.
Through the Community Development program, Laxmi was encouraged to sign up for a Self-Help Group, which encourages women to build their confidence and leadership skills so they can start small businesses that will earn them more money for their families
With ongoing encouragement and guidance from our social workers, Laxmi and five other women from the Self-Help Group started a flour mill business. They purchased a flour mill to grind rice, wheat, pulses, and Pearl millet. The money they earn for grinding is both paying for their mill and providing each woman with monthly income.
The entire team of women works together to market their service, operate the mill, and deliver their products to their customers. They are very happy that their business is productive and that they’re all playing a part in its success.
“We started this business as we wanted to start something by ourselves. So we discussed and thought of making ‘Papad’ or Masala, but that requires a lot of space. So we decided on the flour mill as our start-up business,” Laxmi explains of the business that is now providing her with more income for her family.
Through the Child Sponsorship Program, Mayuri’s school expenses were covered and today, she is flourishing. And, she is working toward her goal of becoming a nurse. The entire family is doing well, encouraged by the progress they’ve made through their own hard work and a brighter future.
