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January (H.S.): Despite their limitless potential, rural youth struggle with a

multitude of socio-economic issues, such as unemployability, a paucity of

growth opportunities, and systemic barriers. This calls for targeted outreach

strategies and grounded solutions to bring equal opportunities to rural India

so that the youth and their communities can flourish.

On

National Youth Day (January 12), the uplifting stories of four rural women

highlight the transformative impact of scalable efforts at the grassroots. Some

of them are forging new paths as entrepreneurs, while others are leading by

example to inspire change, paving the way towards socio-economic progress.

An

overview - Sania Kumari: Hailing from the Darbhanga district in Bihar, Sania

has evolved into an empowered youth champion, spreading awareness about

menstrual health and reproductive hygiene in her community. In 2017, Sania

became a member of Kishori Samooh (Adolescent Group), a platform supported by

Population Foundation of India. Equipped with knowledge , she began to actively

work towards reducing the stigma and misinformation around menstrual health. By

2020, Sania was leading 'Ekta Kishori Samuh' and had also set up a sanitary pad

bank for the benefit of underserved girls. She shares, Initiatives like

Kishori Samooh play a critical role in empowering girls in rural communities

and showing them that they matter. Population Foundation of India enabled me to

show my peers that they too can overcome social and cultural barriers to become

leaders within their communities.

Jyoti

Kumari: Born into a family of daily wage workers in Nawada, Bihar, Jyoti Kumar

has become an inspiring youth champion. As part of Population Foundation of

India's youth collectives during the pandemic in 2020, Jyoti formed two

adolescent groups cumulatively comprising 55 girls, creating a space for them

to learn about menstrual hygiene and safe sexual and reproductive health

practices. She also took the initiative of establishing sanitary banks for

women and girls in her village. Trained by Population Foundation of India to

make sanitary cloth pads, Jyoti promoted these cost-effective and eco-friendly

alternatives within her community. Her efforts to empower girls did not stop

there; Jyoti also organised free computer learning classes to help them build

skills and move towards self-reliance.

Jaishree

Shetole: Jaishree Shetole from Niwali, Madhya Pradesh was unable to continue

her education after the 10th standard. After the end of an abusive marriage,

she found herself starting from scratch at her parents' place with her two

children. She recalls, My life changed when I met Transform Rural India's

youth fellow Vandana Ahire during a youth mobilization drive. She connected me

to the enterprise facilitation hub in the Niwali block.

Post

counselling, she enrolled in a long-duration skill training program focused on

tailoring and boutique management at the Industrial Training Institute (ITI)

Niwali. Though she arranged some funds to start a boutique, she needed help to

expand her business. She approached the Enterprise Facilitation Hub at Niwali

and attended the Gender Integrated-Accelerated Entrepreneurship Development

Program (AEDP). She reminisces, “AEDP is like a mini-MBA and it helped me to

understand the significance of the 5 Ps (Product, Place, Price, People, and

Promotion) and equipped me with real-world knowledge.” She also prepared a

business plan for the next three years and received a loan via the social

investment platform Rang De. Now, well-versed with digital marketing, she is

all set to employ youth in her community. She also hopes to establish a

stitching training centre that will help women to gain financial independence.

Madhuri

Pal: Madhuri Pal hails from Jagan Purwa village (Lakhimpur Kheri) and runs a

flourishing milk collection centre. Her

success however did not come easy. She

recalls, Conspiracies by local milkmen and delayed payments to farmers

who supplied milk created a slew of problems. Initially, some conspirators

laced my supply with some coagulator to spoil the milk, but I was determined to

succeed. A little more care and quick payments to the farmers solved the issue

eventually. She also took loans from a Self-Help Group (SHG) powered by

development designers Transform Rural India (TRI) and a CLF (Cluster-Level

Federation) to create a regular cycle of payments to the milk suppliers. She

says with pride, My milk collection centre started with a mere 5 litres

and now we gather at least 2.5 quintals per day. Just a few years ago,

despite being a postgraduate, Madhuri was just a homemaker while her husband, a

farmer, was the only earning member of the family. Today Madhuri contributes

handsomely to the household income. The Rang De Groundbreaker Entrepreneur

program has offered her financial support through TRI to further expand her

enterprise and now Madhuri also supplies khoya (solid condensed milk) and

paneer (cottage cheese) and aspires to set up an ice cream-making unit. She also serves as a Board Director of the

TRI-supported Women Farmer Producer Company (WFPC).

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi