My name is Selvi, I am 37 years old, I am the 3rd child in my family. My mother is Christian and my father was a Hindu background. From childhood time onward my mom teaches about Jesus, that he died for us, one day He will wipe all our tears and remove all the pains. When I am 23 years old, I got married, I felt real joy and happiness. And I have one son and one daughter.
But days pass one by one, my joy and peace also slowly fading away, I lives in a tent house along with my husband and two kids. After a few years, I got the biggest shocking news in my life, I never able to imagine, I hoped it was false news, but it is not.
The shocking news is my husband got HIV & AIDS. Due to his positive, he gets angry very quickly and started beating me and the children. We don’t know what to do, because the news spread very fast the place I live, and my community even started to thing and talked badly about my entire family. It was such a painful moment.
Everyday with more tears I lived, I lived because of my two small kids, otherwise, I might have commit suicide.
After 4 years, my husband becomes very sick and he died. I don’t know, I should cry or I should run away from the place or the entire family might die. Because no one come to care for us.
I stopped my kids' education and moved to a different place to work, I got a job where breaking stone, it was very much painful, from there I found another job to work as a housemaid, while I was working I saw the family children as they going schools, I decided I want to send my kids also want to go school. But I am not wealthy to send my kids to private schools.
Finally, I decided I can move to near my village, where the Deepam project located. In that village, I started to go fieldwork, and I started to send my kids to government school. While I was coming from the field, I saw Deepam, and many women were working and I can see their face filled with joy and happiness. first one week I was always watching the Deepam project and the peoples.
Finally, I went and asked them about the job. The one who instructing tailoring, she is a very mature lady, I shared about myself and my family. All she said was “Don’t give up” Hope never dies.
She gave me a boost to my spirit, and also she said, we will give tailoring training and if I do well they can give honorarium. Through that my hope was renewed. I started to go every day for training and at the same time I worked at the filed and sending my children to the government school, after completed my basic training I started to receive honorarium I was felt happy, now I am doing advanced tailoring course, meanwhile, Deepam provided freely sewing machine, I felt so much happiness.
I want to be with Deepam equip myself same time I want to bring awareness to the women who suffering like me. One day I want to open tailoring center.
Please pray for me, as a single mother, so hard to handle the situations, I need more wisdom and courage.
Please pray for my kids, health and educations.
Please pray that we can have a proper house to live.
Please pray we will have one day our own shop.
Thank you to Deepam and Special thanks to Grace Project for having hi-tech tailoring machine provided to learn.
If you are interested in contributing to this project click here to donate.
These are wonderful stories! I am humbled that I was able to help one of those ladies with the tools and training to own a little business or find skilled employment.