Dilli Maya Ghatani
Dilli Maya Ghathani, 40, resident of Khudunabari 8, jhapa, mother of two children, from Dalit ethnicity, had not thought that she would have a life with happy family, saving for future, enough food, good health, school going children and good social life before she got into the women group. Because there was no land for farming, no good shelter to live and other sources of income.
She used to go to jungle for collecting firewood but it was not easy job. It was hazardous itself for a woman to tackle with the wild beasts and other complexities. The other problem was jungle wardens who might take her weapon and firewood collected with day long labor. She used to sell that firewood in 80 rupees only which was very minor with the hiking prices of food, clothes and other household materials. She has a bitter story of the day when she returned home with her empty hands losing her small homemade weapon (Khurpa), the only iron property at her home. The Khurpa was taken away by the forest warden and restricted her firewood from taking to her house. She returned with fear and weeping. Remembering the very bad day she says “My husband scolded me. I bowed down and wept all the day and could not speak out.”
Life became more adverse after she gave birth to two children. There was nothing to feed them. Just after one month of her delivery she was out for work. There was no enough food and warm shelter for them. There was no difference of any changing seasons. Spring could not be compared with the summer and autumn. The whole year used to pass in shortage of money, food and everything at home.
Dill Maya Ghatani and Family Members with her grass plant
Time passed with creeping and crawling sorrow and trouble in the every steps of life. She knew about the women groups and Abhiyan Nepal. Some of the women were trying to formulate a women group named Pathivara Women Group in her locality. Her uncle in law, Netra Bahadur Ghatani, became the milestone to encourage her participating in the group. For the first time, she entered a training hall where she found many friends having curiosity and enthusiasism to learn something. She had never been to school in life. She remembered her parents and spoke out “My parents could not send me school to read and write but in this age I have known to write my name and I can do signature”. This was possible after she participated in Self-help Group Management Training organized by Abhiyan Nepal. She started to learn reading and writing in the group. She also learned how to behave with others and family members and importance of working in the team.
Dilly Maya with her Healthy Buffalo
Initially she had hesitations working in the group as she was from Dalit ethnicity but she found that everybody respected her as other elite group. “I was surprised with the lessons that they (members of the group) have already learned from movements of Abhiyan Nepal.” Changes started to occur gradually. She borrowed a buffalo from the project worth of fifty five thousand Nepalese Rupees in August of 2010. She could earn monthly 5000 from selling milk of morning. With the dung of buffalo she started to plant vegetables that gave her good benefits. Earning from milk and vegetable selling she has sustained expenditures for her children’s education, medicine, clothes and other household’s materials. Remembering the past days she says “If I was not involved in the group and joint in the program, my children would have no chance to go for school. Now my daughter is studying at grade 9 and son at grade 6.” They are healthy enough because of nutrition and enough food that she has managed for entire family. She could have saved 46 thousands in a year after all household expenses. Now she has one buffalo, worth of 60 thousands which is going to have a delivery in coming month, a baby buffalo with worth of 10 thousands and grass plants in about 1 acre land.
She wants to give credits for all positive changes to Abhiyan Nepal, Heifer International Nepal and its team from where she could learn the things that she had not imagined before. After Corner Stone (Adharshila) training, she found herself many improvements in her life. Positive attitude towards the society, respecting animals and caring them as we do for human beings, improved relationship in the family, sharing ideas and experiences to other, knowledge of nutrition, health and sanitation and caring the environment of surroundings are the valuable things that she has learned from the training.
