Determination and A Little Support Helped Hemlal Mahji Become Financially Independent

15/03/20

Story of Change

23

Hemlal Mahji is a 20-year-old adolescent boy from Darlinuapada village of Biromal, Odhisa. His father Sahadev Mahji is a farmer and has limited means. After completing his Diploma in ITI, Hemlal was determined to support his family financially. He had an interest in tailoring. His family has limited means as they depended upon agriculture production, so they could not help him with his tailoring course.

Darlinuapada village has a very low rate of literacy. People are unaware of the importance of girl’s education and even about the adverse effects of child marriage. Educated girls are mostly engage in their household activity after the completion of matriculation. Most adolescent boys are school dropouts and are usually involved in agricultural activity in the village. Considering these aspects Bal Raksha Bharat intervened and started conducting Lalita Babu trainings with the youth of the village.

Hemlal’s determination and his will to do good himself as well as good for others made him the discussion leader of the Children’s group. His friends made fun of him. His parents, too, did not like the idea of him being a discussion leader. They believed that no good would happen from him being the discussion leader and didn’t permit for Lalita Babu training. But Hemlal was determined to attend the trainings. He took the support of Save the Chidren’s Cluster Coordinator for mobilizing and convincing his parents for the tailoring course. Eventually, his parents understood the importance of training and supported his idea of becoming a tailor. Further, Lalita Babu trainings helped Hemlal become confident. He made his peers realize the importance of following the objective of Bal Raksha Bharat’s project Marriage No Child’s Play.

He helped Hosna Akyatry Project’s Cluster Coordinator to form the adolescence groups and supported in taking sessions. He also helped in pulse polio programme, Kishory Day celebration, etc. After completing his tailoring course, he has now opened a small shop in his village and earns around 300/- to 500/- per day.

Gaurav Sharma

Content Reviewer

“I am an editor and technical specialist at Bal Raksha Bharat, responsible for publishing articles and posts. My role involves evaluating content for consistency, and ensuring a positive user experience across the website."