Have you seen women that exude an air of confidence and self-assurance. You get the feeling that they can conquer the world and achieve anything. You admire them and wonder how they reached that level. You secretly wish you had half of their skills and courage. I met one of those women during one of my filed visits as a Milaap fellow in the state of Bihar.
Let me introduce you to Rekha Devi. She is a widowed mother of six, a guardian, a leader, a manager and a mompreneur. She lost her husband 16 years ago when she was just 28 years old with six kids.[caption id="attachment_7302" align="alignnone" width="1920"]
Rekha Devi[/caption]A guardian - After her husband passed away she was the sole responsible person in her life and the lives of her children while they were still young. The family was financially broken at that time and she had no place to go. According to Rekha “Take the first step and everything else will fall into place” and she just did the same. She worked really hard to give her kids the best possible life she could.A manager – Marriage is a big affair in India and especially in northern part of the country where the dowry system is so deeply rooted that families have to sell land or other properties so that their girls can be happy. Imagine a single mother of six (three of them are girls) with no such properties which she can sell, how hard it could get for her to find good families for her girls. But she managed it quite well and the girls are in good families now (Not to mention that she had to shell out all her savings for that).A leader – Typically a leader is "a person who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal". And Rekha has just one goal to make her children’s life better in every possible way she can and can lead her kids in the right direction so that they can have a better and happy life.A mompreneur – According to Wikipedia “Mompreneur is a neologism defined as a female business owner who is actively balancing the role of mom and the role of entrepreneur”. So how did Rekha manage to raise six kids and then marry three girls (considering the dowry factor). She runs a grocery shop, she prepares special sweet for her grocery shop and takes orders for marriages and other ceremonies so that she can earn more, she has two cows and their milk brings regular income to the family.[caption id="attachment_7303" align="alignnone" width="1920"]
The grocery shop[/caption][caption id="attachment_7306" align="alignnone" width="1920"]
The sweets prepared by Rekha Devi[/caption]As per Paulo Coelho…..When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into his sixth day of “overtime” when an angel appeared and said:“You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”And the Lord said, “Have you read the specs on this order?* She has to be completely washable, but not plastic;* Have 180 movable parts… all replaceable;* Run on black coffee and leftovers;* Have a lap that disappears when she stands up;* A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair;* And six pairs of hands.” And the Mother was created – a work of genius.
Rekha Devi[/caption]A guardian - After her husband passed away she was the sole responsible person in her life and the lives of her children while they were still young. The family was financially broken at that time and she had no place to go. According to Rekha “Take the first step and everything else will fall into place” and she just did the same. She worked really hard to give her kids the best possible life she could.A manager – Marriage is a big affair in India and especially in northern part of the country where the dowry system is so deeply rooted that families have to sell land or other properties so that their girls can be happy. Imagine a single mother of six (three of them are girls) with no such properties which she can sell, how hard it could get for her to find good families for her girls. But she managed it quite well and the girls are in good families now (Not to mention that she had to shell out all her savings for that).A leader – Typically a leader is "a person who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal". And Rekha has just one goal to make her children’s life better in every possible way she can and can lead her kids in the right direction so that they can have a better and happy life.A mompreneur – According to Wikipedia “Mompreneur is a neologism defined as a female business owner who is actively balancing the role of mom and the role of entrepreneur”. So how did Rekha manage to raise six kids and then marry three girls (considering the dowry factor). She runs a grocery shop, she prepares special sweet for her grocery shop and takes orders for marriages and other ceremonies so that she can earn more, she has two cows and their milk brings regular income to the family.[caption id="attachment_7303" align="alignnone" width="1920"]
The grocery shop[/caption][caption id="attachment_7306" align="alignnone" width="1920"]
The sweets prepared by Rekha Devi[/caption]As per Paulo Coelho…..When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into his sixth day of “overtime” when an angel appeared and said:“You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”And the Lord said, “Have you read the specs on this order?* She has to be completely washable, but not plastic;* Have 180 movable parts… all replaceable;* Run on black coffee and leftovers;* Have a lap that disappears when she stands up;* A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair;* And six pairs of hands.” And the Mother was created – a work of genius.
