Strong Willpower paves the way to success

Karlakhaman village is situated three kilometers away from Lathikata block headquarters. It is a mostly tribal-dominated village with 550 households. Rinarani Gope is a poor woman aged about 35 who belongs to this village. Her husband had neither land property nor any income sources for the sustenance of his own family. Newly married Rina faced a terrible situation in making their bread daily as poverty shrouded them. She was always in grief and thinking about how to get rid of this pathetic situation.

In 2014, she heard about CORD’s voluntary organization from a relative. The next day, she came to the CORD Lathikata’s office and shared her family problem with a field worker. The CORD team inspired her to form a Self-help Group consisting of ten members and continue monthly savings in the group. With the facilitation role of CORD, a SelfHelp Group named “Chinmaya. Bhubaneswari” was formed, and Rina became the secretary. Different types of development training camps were organized for its members to boost their leadership qualities by CORD.

Rina started a fast food business at her house, availing five thousand rupees as a loan from her group. Her business went well because the shop was near a private ITI, a school for the blind, and a Sobhaniya private school. Getting a good income, her unemployed husband helped in the business. Daily, Rina earned Rs 1500 to 2500 and gradually changed her family condition. She tried her level best to provide good service to the customers. She further thought about increasing her household income. So, she decided to start another business. She bought a Rs. 30.000 loan from the group, and she started a stationery business as it is a profitable one. She gets Rs. 8000 to 12,000 in profits from the second venture. As per the profit loss analysis made by our team, she is earning Rs.15000 to 20,000 per month from two businesses. Presently, she is capable enough to manage her family in a decent way. She is free from mental agony. She deposits Rs 4000 at the bank monthly as a recurring deposit. She could have a fixed deposit sum of 30,000/- rupees at the post office. She is also saving Rs.1500/- under Sukanya Samridhi Yojana for her elder daughter every month. The elder daughter studying at Adarsh Vidyalaya English Medium School, run by the Odisha Govt, whereas her second daughter is at a private school.
She is an executive member of Chinmaya. Shakti Mahila Mandal of Karlakhaman village. Being a vibrant and energetic leader, she plays a dynamic role in group management and the village development process. She is imparting training to her group members on bookkeeping, mother and child health, and Panchayati Raj. She has a significant role in mobilizing women and villagers to Pallisabha and Gram Sabha to put forth individual and community demands.

She has been selected as a community resource person (CRP) under the Odisha Mission Shakti department. She represents herself at block level women’s federation and mobilizes Revolving funds, seed money, and different income-generating projects like poultry, goat farming, mushroom farming, vermicompost units, etc., for needy women from Odisha Livelihood Mission and Odisha Mission Shakti.
Rina inspires other poor and needy women to make an effort to enhance the income of the family because economic independence brings self-reliance and self-esteem to one’s life in society. As a guide, she counsels poor women that “strong willpower paves the way to success.”