Pushpalata’s story

Hailing from Rajapur in Sultanpur District of UP, is a 20-year-old girl named Pushpalata who brims with a fiery attitude towards life.

Pushpalata has orthopedic disability but that has not stopped her from pursuing her studies or working all day and supporting her family.

However, till two years ago, life was not moving so evenly for Pushpalata. Having six children alongside Pushpalata, her parents were working day and night to provide food and education for them. With each passing day, it was becoming tougher for them to keep up the pace. Restless and scared to lose her education, Pushpalata met with Shyam Narayan who lived in the neighbourhood. Shyam Narayan, a DPO Member and the head of the SHG- Viklang Kalyan which was formed with the help of Sightsavers in association with Yuva Viklang Evam Dristibadhitarth Kalyan Sewa Sansthan (YVDKSS) in Sultanpur, told her about the group and welcomed her to join it. She got in touch with YVDKSS – Sightsavers’ local partner and received the skill development training from Rural Self Employment Training Institute.

Today, Pushpalata is the leader of Viklang Kalyan in Bhairopur. She provides trainings to students from the village on stitching and painting on clothes. She has trained eleven students so far and has also enrolled a set of another students for the second batch.
Recently, Pushpalata completed her Masters in Home Science from Faizabad. Thinking back about her earlier days, Pushpalata says that all of this would not have happened had she not met ‘Shyam Chacha’ then. Shyam Narayan tells us that she is the most hardworking amongst all the eleven members of the group. Pushpalata has been a saviour for her family since she became a part of the SHG.