When Sarada was 19 she married a local carpenter. It was a happy union and Sarada and her husband had three daughters. Sadly, three years ago Sarada’s husband got blood poisoning from an accident at work. After a long battle with illness, he passed away.
Sarada’s family were living in a temporary home with no walls and a thatched roof while they saved for a proper house. However, all their savings were used in the medical care for her husband.
Sarada was determined to give her girls a proper home. She worked at tea plantations during the day and as a seamstress at night. When she joined a local women’s group she learnt about Habitat for Humanity. There, she made an application for support and was accepted.
Sarada continues working hard. She is keen to pay off her loan quickly and add to her farm so the family can have extra savings during the winter months.
Sarada’s main priority is that her girls get a good education and become independent – she identifies her own lack of education as the reason why the family had to struggle so much.
“I am working in a tea garden because I am illiterate but I definitely don’t want that for my daughters. I don’t want my daughters to have the struggles that I’ve been through. I hope they will be independent and stand on their own feet and I want to prove that daughters are equal to sons.”
