Baljeet Kaur, wife of S. Pargat Singh
My husband, S Pargat Singh, was an alcoholic. He was a labourer and whatever he earned after a hard day's work was blown off drinking. We tried our best to make him give up the habit, but he refused to listen.The addiction finally claimed his life.
I was left all alone with a son and a daughter. My world came crashing down. I struggled to make ends meet. There were days when I went without food. It was then that I met Umeed members and joined the rural NGO three years ago.
I took a loan of Rs 20,000 from my group and bought cosmetics, which I sell by going from door-to-door. In the mornings, I work as a domestic help and in the afternoon I, along with my daughter, go from one village to another selling cosmetics. My 14-year-old daughter is studying in class IX and 12-year-old son is in class VII. I earn about Rs 1,500 as a domestic help and approximately Rs 2,500 selling cosmetics, which is enough to last the month. I am grateful to Umeed for supporting and guiding me through all my troubles. Whatever I am today is because of Umeed. They are doing a great job! God bless Umeed!
