Cheering the Spirit of Womanhood!
Sleek & Tender as an infant feather, Yet able to stand against any weather;
Sleek & Tender as an infant feather, Yet able to stand against any weather;
In her womb she can carry life,
Many roles she plays from mother to wife;
Her charming spirit gives meaning to a home,
In the outer world she also rules the official dome.
-by Shweta Dhaka
‘Behind every successful man there is a woman and behind every successful woman there lies diligent efforts.’ Given the opportunity, they excel in every field be it in sports, science, corporate to name a few. It is just a matter of getting the right opportunity. However, even in this 21st century there continues to be a large section of women, struggling with daily challenges of poverty, deprivation, unequal opportunities etc. Keeping this in mind, Deepalaya has been striving hard to change this state of affairs. The SHG programme has been working towards economic empowerment of women which in turn facilitates enhanced status of the women in their family and communities. Today, Deepalaya has over 693 SHGs in Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand. With women playing a leading role in the programme, it was but natural that the International Women’s Day was celebrated with great gusto and enthusiasm. Here is a glimpse on how this group celebrated the International Women’s Day on 8th March,2010-Around 250 women participated in an awareness programme on Cervical Cancer & Diabetes. This interactive programme was organized on 8th March, 2010 by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). Ms. Shivani Mathur from PHFI made the women aware about the issues related to Cervical Cancer and Diabetes. It was completely an interactive session, where women both asked questions related to the issues and even shared their own experiences. Addressing the women, Mr. Bhola Ram, Programme Officer- Madanpur Khadar said, “Indian women are still 100 years behind time with the kind of discrimination she faces in her everyday life. This is time when all of you should become socially aware and take a stand for the betterment of your lives. This you can do by educating yourselves as well as your generations.â€Â His words surely touched the souls of the women present there as some of them shared their own stories of discrimination. It was indeed a day dedicated for the women.
42 members SHG leaders from Haryana (Pataudi, Bawal, Sohna & Tavru) attended a six day training programme (7th-12th March, 2010) on Alcoholism and its management, Naturopathy and Water Management. This was part of a series of training organized under National Council of Rural Institute (NCRI) as part of the project on “Functional Literacy for 500 SHG members.â€ÂThe SHG leaders would subsequently organize similar sessions at their respective villages and spread the knowledge.
About the Author
Ravi Pahuja
Noida
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