To meet family expenses is not easy for every person, particularly to those whose financial position is timid and sources of income are meager. In this struggle of fetching family expenses, many people find hope in the different schemes implemented for financial prosperity of the people. One among those aspiring entrepreneurs is Shameema, a mother of six children from a village Nagam Noorabad of District Kulgam. She took a challenge on herself to improve the financial status for welfare of family. However, in her endeavor came a savior from the government in the form of National Rural Livelihood Mission’s (NRLM) UMEED which let her materialize the longing for stable income and prosperous life. Today, she is the owner of several business ventures located in her area besides she has become a role model for other women. While recollecting her journey to success, Shameema narrated that once she came to know about the UMEED scheme which lends the helping hand to women for economic development through finance schemes. She added that passion brewed in her so she rushed to avail the benefits provided by UMEED. Shameema said that she joined a Self Help Group where she received initial financial support in the form of Revolving Fund (RF) of Rs 10,000. Soon, she started to sell vegetables and local street foods to earn quite a good income compared to the previous position. “Later, I availed Community investment fund (CIF) of Rs 20,000”, she said. Further, she also availed Mudra loan of Rs 50,000 besides getting Bank linkage of Rs 3 Lakh and also received total Capitalisation Support from NRLM along with Bank Linkage Rs 3.8 Lakh. With the help of time and again financial support, she said, “I managed my business and started a Karyana shop in my village. This venture boosted my confidence besides helping me to meet expenses of my family”. As the financial position of the family got better with every passing day, she began to repay the loan besides saved some amount from daily profit to extend her business. As she sensed success from existing ventures, it further motivated her to take further steps towards prosperity. In her own words, “I didn’t pause here but in addition to the grocery shop, I planned to initiate another business”. And, yes, “I managed to start all this,” Shameema, while joy resplendent from her face. “Now, I am the owner of a Footwear shop and also operating a mini Gas counter here in village,” she mentioned her ventures. She continued narrating her success while expressing that UMEED is behind her achievements which handheld her. Now, she feels proud and fortunate enough for having a dignified life. “My Son is pursuing Engineering and other wards are enrolled in schools and I am managing the expenses from my business,” said Shameema, adding, “I also paid installments of RF, CIF and bank Loan on time which helps me to build a good relationship with financial institutions too”. Her endeavours are not now limited to herself, but she involves other family members to further expand entrepreneur ventures. Speaking about Shameema, the District Programme Manager applauded and complimented Shameema for her dedication and consistency which she exhibited in raising her business ventures. Meanwhile, he added that district Kulgam has 2876 SHGs with 23369 members have been brought within ambit of these SHGs. While sharing details he said, the members have contributed Rs 2.88 crore and a majority of members are now owners of their own business establishments. Under the leadership of Mission Director Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar and support of Deputy Commissioner Kulgam, Dr Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din Bhat, NRLM in Kulgam has successfully initiated process of convergence with line departments like agriculture, Sheep Husbandry, Animal Husbandry etc to create vibrant and long-term livelihood activities. He also added that 84 members have clear decks to be Digi-Pay Sakhis. Twelve FL-CRF, (Financial literacy-community resource persons), have been trained through JKRSETI Kulgam to promote financial inclusion drive among SHG members. There are now multiple programmes for women empowerment including Hausla, Tejaswini, UMEED, Rise Together and other programmes which have been rolled out to empower women besides making them self-reliant.
