Tag Archives: Leela Devi Family

Leela Devi Continues Her Struggle for a Better Life

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Leela Devi manages food stuffs as a project management committee member during a training program of self help group members.

Leela Devi manages food stuffs as a project management committee member during a training program of self help group members.

Story by Avni Malhotra

When we last brought you an update about Leela Devi (age 37) and her family in Simariya Village, India, we saw that with Heifer International’s help their income had increased and they were beginning to dream of living in a concrete house. But when we checked in last month, we learned that their struggle for a better life is not over. Even though there has been an improvement in income from the savings with the Self Help Group, the sale of vegetables from her kitchen garden and the work as a cook for the village school, Leela and Umesh continue their struggle for a better life.

The house they dreamed of completing is stuck due to some disputes in the family. The money they invested stands as bricks and cement that they had bought for the construction. They are now hopeful that they will be able to complete their house after a delay of six months.

Leela Devi poses in front of Bricks she has bought for the construction of a concrete house for her family.

Leela Devi poses in front of Bricks she has bought for the construction of a concrete house for her family.

This is a common situation for the people living in an economy where resources are few and claims of rights are numerous. Generations go by before disputes of property are sorted, if at all. The people find it hard to continue the fight as the struggle requires resources of time, energy and money that they can ill afford. Famous epics are written around such family disputes — Mahabharata being the most famous one.

We hope that Leela’s family will soon have the security of a concrete house and move out of the bamboo and mud house they have been living in.

Leela devi enjoys tea with Laxmi Kisku (a project management committee member of Bhartiya self help group) during a committee meeting.

Leela enjoys tea with Laxmi Kisku (a project management committee member of Bhartiya self help group) during a committee meeting.

Heifer India Keeps Hope Alive Simariya Village

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Heifer India particiapnt Leela with her sons

Leela Devi poses with her two sons Luv and Kush

In Simariya Village, Leela still continues to struggle with her life. But with the help of Heifer International India, things have changed. Her family income has gone up and her dream of living in a concrete house is seeing the first rays of hope. With the increase in income, she and her husband have started thinking of building their concrete house in the same yard. They hope to finish is in a years’ time.

In her small yard, Leela has started growing vegetables from the different seeds she received, and she is also growing fodder for her animals. As they struggle along, Leela and her family live with hope and a very positive attitude as she continues as an active member of her family, group and community.

Editor’s note: This post is part of a series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Our colleagues in the field have chosen one family in each region in the countries where we work and will bring us quarterly updates. You can read read the first post about Leela and her family here.

Heifer India project management committee

Leela Devi guides project management committee members on poultry farm structure

 

In Bihar, India, a woman poses with goats she received from Heifer International

Leela Devi poses with her two goats she received from Heifer International


Hope Floats in Simariya Village

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Leela Devi, age 36, makes her way back home along the narrow lanes of Simariya village in Bihar as the evening sun descends into fields of harvest wheat. Her life will never be the same again. From barely being able to make the ends meet, her life is taking a turn for the better making her more self sufficient. Heifer International India in association with Society for Advancement of Tribes, Health, Education and Environment (SATHEE) is working for many such people and families in Bihar and other States of India. Leela Devi belongs to that fraction of community, which has been surviving amidst isolation, oppression and exploitation along with acute poverty-stricken conditions for a long time.
Leela Devi has two twin sons, Luv and Kush, and two daughters named Priyanka (seen in the picture) and Suman. While her husband, Umesh Prasad does masonry work, she cooks the mid day meal provided to the school children. Leela Devi has one cow, a calf and two goats. She is one of the most active members of the Project Management Committee (PMC) and has received trainings on 12 Cornerstones, self-help group management, gender justice and improved animal management. By the means of these trainings, Leela and her husband feel encouraged and empowered to lead a balanced and self sustainable lifestyle.
Apart from the regular sources of earning, Leela Devi has been able to earn and save more money by means of selling 14 litres of cow’s milk every week. The family’s nutrition intake has also gone up due to consumption of this milk. She, along with her family, currently lives in a thatched bamboo hut but because of the improved circumstances, she has been able to earnestly save some money to build a safe concrete house. Apart from learning the importance of nutrition, saving, sharing, caring and cleanliness, Leela Devi and her husband have also learned to manage their livestock’s safety, health and productivity. They have learned to live a balanced and self-reliant life by optimally utilizing the available resources.
They are one of the 4000 odd families whose food security, livelihood promotion and empowerment is taking place on a regular basis as an impact of the Heifer Project.
Editor’s note: This post is the first from India in a new series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Initially, this series will focus on our programs in Asia/South Pacific, where our colleagues have chosen one family in each region in the countries where we work and will bring us quarterly updates.