"My heart used to weep seeing my husband struggling to earn a decent income from his crop. And it wasn’t just him. The local moneylenders and middlemen were making farmers’ lives in our village miserable. I wanted to help, but how? I had never even stepped out of the house ever before!

The women of Bhadrapali mean business. Once restricted to their homes, today every woman in the community is an SHG member, and earns their own income. This ‘women’s movement’ has caused a wave of change, with the women transforming the community into a ‘Model Village’. Juggling a multitude of tasks, these women are a force to be reckoned with!

In 1987 child marriage was rife in rural West Bengal. But when Basanti Chakraborty heard about the impending marriage of a 15-year-old girl in her village, she took matters into her own hands. Objecting vehemently to the families involved, she spent hours trying to convince them otherwise.

Many development organization has mark their success on the number of projects and programs they implement. However, we believe that the true success and contribution of our organization is promoting sustainable development that can more effectively be measured by taking a look at our efforts in strengthening local organisations. After all, improving ‘community ownership’ is both a means and an end in the process of development.

Never in her wildest dreams did housewife Renu Thakur imagine where cows would take her in life! From Nauni village in Darlaghat all the way to the offices of the Ministry of Finance, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry in the Himachal Pradesh State Government, Renu has been on a wild ride. Renu was one of the 30 founding members of the women only Amrit Dhara Dairy Milk Cooperative, which has grown from strength to strength - swelling to 300 members today.

The art of kitchen gardening is transforming the lives, incomes and health of families across rural India. Promoted as part of Ambuja Foundation’s health programme, this intervention played a crucial role in feeding families and generating incomes during the pandemic - at a time when supplies were restricted during lockdown and going to busy markets, a risk.

In working among adolescent girls, the importance of menstrual health and hygiene cannot be emphasized less. Myths and taboos are, however, highly prevalent and dispelling them become essential to executing a successful programme in this space.

Last mile coverage of maternal healthcare in villages across India continues to remain a challenge. The quality of health service provided by Primary healthcare centres and Sub-centres is often sub optimal, essential medicines and beds in short supply as well as lack of qualified medical professionals.

On the occasion of International Women's Day celebrated on 8th March worldwide, Ambuja Foundation saw many women beneficiaries awarded for their exemplary work in bringing transformation to the communities.

Across India, rural women are stepping out of their households and participating in community life via Self Help Groups (SHGs). But SHGs are merely a launching pad and, once empowered, many women are going on to hold formal and informal leadership positions in their local communities.

Hansaben Jadhav is no stranger to financial difficulty. When her father-in-law passed away at the age of just 55, she stepped up in life and started handling the financial responsibilities of the family.

Rural women are key agents for development, yet in India, there remains a large, latent potential in the country's women - particularly in rural areas. However, many communities are finding ways to tap this latent potential to enable 'last mile reach' in remote, rural communities for various community services - in particular, healthcare.