"Once you choose hope, anything's possible." - Christopher Reeve
I am Champaben Ganeshbhai Vankar from Vadodara, Gujarat. For a long time, our family of nine struggled with a financial crisis, as my husband was the sole breadwinner. He worked as contract labour, with a monthly income of INR 15,000, which was insufficient to support us. Being a housewife, I had never stepped out of my home and was involved in household chores only. I was unable to provide financial support to my family. However, my positive belief to change situations around me provided me with the motivation and courage to support my husband.
In 2015, I got the opportunity to join a Self-Help Group (SHG) run by #ApolloTyresFoundation (ATF), where I received various income generation #trainings, such as tailoring and livestock management. With ATF's support, I started tailoring business, along with livestock management activity, and was able to earn a monthly income of INR 26,000. With my additional income, I was able to provide financial support to my family and make my children's education a reality too!
Apart from providing support to my family, I was instrumental in linking 29 community women with various government welfare schemes like Widow Pension, Old Age Pension and Poultry Farming scheme. Through my constant efforts, I was able to motivate parents to enroll their kids in schools, because of which 15 children started receiving formal education. My hard work finally paid off when Gram Panchayat elected me as the President of Waghodiya Taluka Panchayat in April 2021.
With the local administration support, I was able to resolve local community-level issues, such as abolishing illegal liquor production units, problems related to drinking water, among others. Looking back at my journey, I believe that “with hard work, perseverance and self-belief, there is no limit to what you can achieve”.
“I am Champaben. It’s my identity…This is my story!”…#Ek Naam
Navya #NewBeginnings #IWD2022
In association with Csrbox Alliance Française de Delhi #ApolloTyresFoundation #trainings #Ek #NewBeginnings #IWD2022
Posted On: 11 Jan 2022 11:00 AM
