I am Shahista Mazaroddin Siddiqui, resident of Chanai Village of Ambajogai block Dist. Beed. I came in contact with SAMPADA in the year 2011. At the time, Me and my husband were struggling to make ends meet. We were staying in a rented house. Against all the odd conditions of my family we were managing our livelihoods on merely daily wages that could provide us mere subsistence. The education of our children, having our own house was like a dream. Credit Officer of Sampada visited us for the formation of JLG. Other women from our area were already a part of the JLG motivated me and asked to attend all the meetings. We also had a round of training where entrepreneurship skills were imparted to us and guided us to earn our livelihood from non-farm activity. I was always interested in stitching and Sampada showed me that the way to make it a source of income generation. Restricted with no formal training, I took first loan from Sampada of Rs. 10, 000/-. I invested it in my stitching class and some amount for raw material. I upgraded my knowledge of smart stitching and started stitching clothes. Soon I started earning about Rs 40-50 per day that helped repaying the total loan in a years’ time. Realizing the potential, I took second loan of Rs.15000/- from Sampada that was utilized to upgrade my simple sewing machine with attachment for Pico fall and embroidery. The rise in household income was sustainable. During the regular group meetings, women always motivated me to open a lady’s garment shop and also teach girls to stitch. It was a new opportunity for me and with support of my family I started coaching girls at our residence and also kept different ladies’ items for sales. Since the material had to be brought in wholesale and in bulk, it required working capital. I again borrowed a loan of Rs.30000/- from Sampada and invested own savings for working capital. My household income increased manifolds and I borrowed a home loan from a Housing Finance Co and investing my own savings for a new home. Sampada improved our financial situation by providing easy access to loans and with the respect one deserves. Over a period of eight years, I have been member of SAMPADA and had gained prosperity and self-confidence. Now I am recognized as successful entrepreneur in the society.
