Gowhar Maqbool
Nusrat, 25 from Rakh e Hajin area of North Kashmir’s Bandipora district is the main source of income for her family. All thanks to the Government sponsored Umeed Scheme through which Nusrat is sewing clothes and running a family of six.
Nusrat is one of the beneficiaries of Umeed Scheme in Jammu and Kashmir to earn her livelihood besides becoming self dependent and self-sufficient.
Talking to Webstory Nusrat said that their family consists of three sisters, a specially abled brother and old parents.
“My father is a laborer by profession and mother a housewife. Our brother is specially abled and cannot work, so I took the initiative to help my family and earn a livelihood,” she said.
Nusrat said she started learning sewing clothes from a nearby teacher who taught her how to sew clothes.
“I received training and became professional. I went home and asked my father to give me some amount so that I could purchase a sewing machine. However he wasn’t in a position to purchase one for me,” she added.
In the meantime Nusrat saw girls in her village forming SHG groups and she too became part of it.
She said that she has been made aware about the Umeed Scheme by other girls.
“After joining UMEED and following the pancha sutras our self-help group after three months became eligible for a Revolving Fund of an amount of 15000 and so I took this whole amount and purchased a sewing machine,” she added.
After having her personal sewing machine, she started sewing clothes to earn her livelihood and to provide a helping hand to her family.
Nusrat said that she started from nothing and today she has opened a shop not only for herself but also for her specially abled brother with the help of the UMEED scheme after taking a loan from this scheme.
Nusrat started her own shop and earns for herself and for her family who were at one stage living in absolute poverty.
Now she wants more women to get involved in this scheme and earn livelihood.
She believes that under the scheme, women can get help in setting up their own business easily. She now is an inspiration for others in the village who not only runs a family but is providing employment to others also.
Nusrat said that the JK state Rural Livelihood Mission has provided her a platform to contribute for the livelihood of her family consisting of an aged father who wasn’t able to bear the expenses of three sisters and a specially abled brother.
“Our condition was getting worse day by day but due to this scheme we are able to live a dignified life now,” Nusrat added.
She is grateful to the government which helped her to earn a decent life.
It’s pertinent to mention that the UMEED Scheme encourages women to make small savings so that their Self Help Groups (SHGs) eventually become bankable at reduced rate of interest.
Note : Representative picture used for this story.
