Stories of Hope

Karathittu is predominantly an Irula tribal hamlet in Tamil Nadu. The region is geographically very vulnerable due to its close proximity to the coast and backwater. The Irular community is primarily engaged in agriculture labour, rat and snake catching and other menial and low income jobs. The community faces extreme poverty as they have very limited skills and options to secure their livelihood. The rate of illiteracy is alarmingly high and people from the tribe are often ostracised by other caste groups. All families are largely dependent upon unstable and irregular work and their financial security and well-being remain a matter of concern.
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Shakti Prasanna is a farmer from Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu who owned 10 acres of land in the region. In 2012, when the Government executed the MNREGA scheme, there was severe shortage of labours and he had to discontinue farming.
Agro-forestry came as an alternate livelihood option to him. Shakti had no technical know-how about agro-forestry and was totally dependent on farming to sustain his family and himself. To add to his woes there was water scarcity which was deeply affecting his produce and made farming extremely challenging.
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Neha comes from a large family set up, where she lives with her parents and three siblings. The family of six is entirely dependent on her father’s meagre income which he earns by working as an assistant at a mobile shop. Neha studies at J Block Government school in Sangam Vihar, Delhi which is supported by our corporate partner Royal Bank of Scotland through our workplace giving programme Give As You Earn. Though economically disadvantaged, Neha is a studious and bright student who scored 82% in her last examination. She, like most other students dreaded Mathematics and failed to understand the subject. Read more to know how Shikshaantra programme helped her overcome her fear of Mathematics
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Jyoti is a visually impaired girl who hails from Honnavar district of Uttara Karnataka, part of rural Karnataka. Two years ago Jyoti was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa and gradually lost her eyesight in a span on one year. The world came crashing down on her as she had to relearn the simplest day to day activities. Her aspiration of completing her graduation and find a dignified means of livelihood came to a standstill. It was at this juncture when Microsoft aided NGO Enable India's Career Centric Computer Training programme came to her rescue.
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Shobana is a 17 year old girl who studies in grade 12 at Prof. Annusamy Hr. Sec. School in Pondicherry. She is a highly motivated girl who takes keen interest in her studies as well as extra-curricular activities. Her only lament is with respect to the deteriorated and dilapidated condition of the sanitary facilities at her school. Taking serious note of the poor sanitary condition, Rotary with support from Aircel undertook the school’s infrastructure development through their umbrella project “Support My School”.
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