A coalition to create a Better Normal for India
Women@Work is a coalition
For His Family’s Happiness
Daud Shaikh, who loves his family and constantly travels across State lines to spend time with them, recently realised how identity documents can add value to his life
In 2011, Daud Shaikh, then an 18-year-old farmer, migrated from his village in Jharkhand to Mumbai. He managed to find work as a construction worker in the city. Ten years on, Daud works as a mason at the Shapoorji Pallonji construction site in Powai, Mumbai.
Prior to his marriage, he used to stay in the city for one-two years at a stretch. Now a father of three, he shuttles between his village and the city every three-four months despite his economic compulsions.
The Dreams of an 18-Year-Old Migrant Worker
Ibrahim wants to earn more money, get a better job, and have a family, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made his goals harder to achieve.
Eldest of 8 siblings, Ibrahim moved from his hometown in Kathiya district in Bihar to Delhi, in February 2020. Fresh out of high school, he migrated to the big city hoping to earn money to supplement the income of his father, who works as a daily wager in Bihar. Soon after he managed to find a job as a construction worker at a site in Gurgaon, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and all construction activities were banned. Ibrahim, who was then barely 17, was thrown into unprecedented uncertainty.
Creating a PAN Card Creates Value For Us
Sudam Kumar, who recently received his PAN card, is looking forward to the benefits and support the identity document will provide construction workers like himself
Sudam Kumar, who used to be a farmer in Bihar, decided to leave his hometown with his family when he turned 18, so that he could find a better livelihood in the big city. He arrived in Noida in 2014 as a migrant worker, and eventually found work in the construction industry. When the COVID-19 lockdown was enforced in 2020, Sudam
All For Her Daughter
Sonu Kumari, a single mother who works as a construction worker in Uttar Pradesh, discovered that understanding her government scheme entitlements will open up a world of opportunities
When Sonu Kumari
Samhita’s Collection of Stories of Change
Imagine a day when women in our country will have absolute agency to take decisions in their personal life and to flourish professionally. Imagine a day when access to quality medical-facilities will not be a luxury reserved for the elite. Imagine a day when India
The Life-Saving Labour Card
Construction worker Kundan Prasad is thankful to have had a labour card before the onset of the pandemic, because it enabled him to sustain his family through the lockdowns even when he had no means to earn a livelihood.
Kundan Prasad is a 30-year-old construction labourer at a site in Noida. He moved to the National Capital Region in 2015, from the Latehar district in Jharkhand, in the hope of financially supporting his family of six.
In Pursuit Of A Better Life
Mahavir Rai, who works as a construction worker, recently understood how getting a BOCW card would help him secure a better future for his children.
35-year-old Mahavir Rai starts his day at 4 in the morning. He cooks breakfast and is ready to leave for work by 8 a.m. Mahavir works at the ATS construction site in Noida where he does shuttering work.
Tracing the trajectory of COVID-hit digital India
Ever since COVID-19 hit India, the disease brought an onslaught of unimagined and unprecedented circumstances. Governments scrambled to impose lockdowns on short notice to control the spread of the disease and India was no stranger to adopting this global approach to control the infections. However, this strategy came with a set of complex implications that bore an impact on health, livelihoods, education and life as we
Why We Need To Talk About Nano-Entrepreneurs In India
Nano entrepreneurs are people who typically run small retail or kirana shops or earn a livelihood as street vendors. They usually have not had the benefit of a college education, which prevents them from attaining formal means of employment and many shoulder debt to survive, making it even more dire for those who have faced a health or a financial crisis during the pandemic.
The challenges faced by nano entrepreneurs are different than their medium or small scale counterparts. With the line blurred between personal and business income, they are often just a nudge away from being pushed into poverty.
Samhita-CGF’s REVIVE Alliance realised the significant role & enormous potential of nano entrepreneurs in reviving India’s post-pandemic economy and since have been working with our partners to create better opportunities these cohorts.
Read the full article by our partner Michael & Susan Dell Foundation on why we need to talk about nano entrepreneurs.
