Tribal woman from Kulgam pursuing dreams with the help of Umeed
Helping other women to start their own units
Kulgam: A 29 year old woman hailing from a far flung area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district has been pursuing her dreams with the help of Umeed scheme of NRLM.
Begum Jan (29) a resident of Tangmarg area of Aharbal in Kulgam district who is pursuing masters in Public Administration has started her bakery shop with the help of Umeed.
Begum has been helping other women of her locality to pursue their dreams by helping them to start their units.
Begum said that she came to know about the Umeed scheme in 2018 and later she joined the scheme to give wings to her dreams.
She, however, said that initially she faced challenges as there was hardly anyone who was ready to join SHG groups as most people in their area were illiterate and convincing them was proving to be very difficult.
She said that those who were getting motivated were hesitant in sharing their documents like Adhar cards and Bank passbooks.
“It took me a lot of time to motivate few girls from our area to join the SHGs,” she said.
“Once I got first loan installment from the department, we started a tailoring unit where several girls were trained who are currently earning their livelihood themselves,” she said.
She said that later she started a bakery shop along with his brother where they are earning their livelihood quite well.
Begum said that later she helped women of the area to start shops and other units to earn their livelihood.
She said that she recently helped a lady to start a CSC centre in the locality as there were no such facilities available.
Begum said that women folk part of the SHGs have been yielding good benefits from the Umeed scheme as the scheme has helped thousands of rural women to earn their livelihood.
She advised all those who are yet to become part of any SHG to join it and yield its benefits.
She said that women should not waste their time running after government jobs.
“Women should join SHGs and start small businesses and if they will work hard, they will definitely become independent and live a very happy life,” she added.
