Many elderly women in India suffer from poverty, isolation and social exclusion. In particular, elderly widowed women are often denied even basic rights such as food, health-care and are thrown out of their homes by their families. Thousands of such aged widows congregate in India's holy city, Vrindavan, where they usually spend the rest of their lives in austerity, begging for food and living in hovels with no electricity and running water.
The destitute widows of Vrindavan do not have any support system; their survival strategy is to beg or collect ten rupees by singing bhajans (devotional songs) for hours. Maitri helps them access Widow Pension schemes provided by the state government, however, since they do not have any other resources the pension amount of Rs. 300 is insufficient for their sustenance.
Maitri India proposes to help destitute widows of Vrindavan achieve financial independence and security. By helping them build skills and resources to set up a Agarbatti Production Unit that will make four different products like Dhoop Batti, Agarbatti, Mosquito repellant and floor cleanser using natural and organic material, they will not only generate means of livelihood for them but also help instill a sense of worth and self esteem in their lives. The project will benefit the widows that are already part of Maitri’s Project Jeevan – a project that provides shelter, mid-day-meals, healthcare and clothing to about 300 widows in Vrindavan and Radha Kund.
The production unit will allow these elderly women to carry out the job with ease; they will be involved in the making of Agarabttis using simple peddle operated machines which has productivity 5 times more than the traditional process of hand-rolling.
The widows will be able to easily learn and operate the machine and easily be able to carry out the job of producing agarbattis, dhoop battis and other products. Further more, this will help them generate an average wage of Rs.3000 per month on a regular basis.
Funds raised will be utilised to impart training to 50 widows, help establish the production unit over a period of one year. Funds will also be utilised for packaging and marketing of the products.
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