Chanda Ramgirwar of Hardona Khurd village, Chandrapur, bucked societal trends and family pressure when she sent her two daughters to study high school. She created community uproar when she sent them for college!
But the homemaker turned entrepreneur didn't care and was committed to giving her girls the opportunity that she never had as a child.
"It created a lot of problems in the village for us all – but mum was adamant – we were to study," her 20-year-old daughter Saima, a 2nd year student of Pharmacy at Gondwana University, Chandrapur, said.
However, the challenges did not stop there. Already operating the household on a meager income, Chanda had to find additional sources of funds to pay for their education – creating her own business in household cleaning products to do so.
"I attended a Women's Federation event, organized by Ambuja Foundation, which taught women ways in which they could start their own enterprises. I started making cleaning products and things just grew from there," she said.
Today, her girls are flourishing, and now other women in the community have followed suit – sending their girls to study.
"People can see the confidence and potential we have to earn – now they want the same for their daughters," Chanda said.
Even Chanda has grown, and now holds the position of Secretary of the Ekta Mahila Bachat Sangh – Chandrapur Women's Federation.
