-Niladri Sahoo

“My husband left me alone when I was in the pregnancy stage. Since then I was struggling to make a subsistence income, especially for a healthy life for my daughter”, says Chandrakanti with tearful eyes, a single mother aged 36, lives with her only girl child of 8 years – an Internet Saathi in Dadhibamanpur village of Cuttack Sadar.

“I would have sat dejected by myself, not sure what was the way forward. But all that changed when I was invited for a village meeting set up by CYSD Volunteers. I came to know that possibly, I would get trained on the internet and work as Internet Saathi and receive two Mobile Phones. Soon, I jumped at the idea and there has been no turning back since”, shared enthusiastic Chandrakanti.

After Chandrakanti gave birth to her daughter, she was gripped with poverty and social exclusion. However, she determined to do something new to survive. She had learnt the art of making nice home decor items out of waste materials adding a little bit of tailoring. With steely determination and without losing an iota of courage, she single-handedly started running a bag-making business. But, the income from the business was not even sufficient. During Saathi selection process, she was very enthusiastic to be a part of the programme and shown her potentiality to be a Saathi. Finally, she became an Internet Saathi. Despite her challenging life, Chandrakanti now says, “I have a hope of becoming an active informed citizen in the next few years and being able to improve my standard of living because of the Internet Saathi Programme”.  

With enhanced knowledge and upgraded skills, currently, Chandrakanti earns about Rs. 15000 per month and is aspiring to double her monthly income during the coming festive seasons. Most of her business comes from Internet Saathi beneficiaries, who also recommend her work to others, as well as a few customers from outside of her clusters who come to her workshop to place orders. A happy Chandrakanti now plans to send her daughter to a good school with ‘smart dress’. “I extend my thankfulness to the Internet Saathi Programme for giving scope for transforming my life”, says happy Chandrakanti with sparkling eyes.