Binita Tirkey thought she was dreaming when SRI SAI Self Help Group (SHG), of which she has been an active member, was declared as the winner of Shree Shakti Award instituted by Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP).
As Binita puts it, receiving the award from RSP's CEO G S Prasad and Manjari Prasad, President of Deepika Mahila Sanghati along with fellow members of the SHG in a function held recently, was one of the finest moments of her life.
It is worth mentioning here that the first prize of Shree Shakti award carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000/- , a Trophy and a certificate, a release from RSP said.
However, the journey between November 2007 when the SHG was born and March 2015 when it was adjudged as the best amongst the 50 odd Women SHGs of this region, was not a smooth one by any means. The SHG took shape when 11 girls of Jabaghat village came together under the leadership of Binita and decided to change the course of their lives.
The endeavour commenced with a small consistent saving by each member every month which was used to provide loans to needy members. Within 8-9 months the group ventured into a small business enterprise of Phenyl Making. The commitment and vibrancy of the group got them recognised as a Grade-I SHG by ITDA and won them a prize of Rs 5,000 in December 2008.
However, the turning point came in 2007-08 when RSP identified it as a part of Project Kishori.
Project Kishori with an emphasis on attitudinal and behavioural changes as a pre-requisite for any development process trained the girls in different skills of book keeping, food processing, arts and crafts, mushroom cultivation, women's rights, health and hygiene and land and water management, the release said.
With the support of RSP's Project Kishori, Society for Rural Industrialisation, the group went ahead to open a chow factory with a net investment of Rs 1.70 lakh inclusive of machines and raw material (for a month).
Besides, renovation job of the Village Community Centre, worth Rs 1.80 lakhs was also entrusted to the group of enthusiastic girls by RSP.
