Tough times call for tough personalities. In this world riddled with uncertainty, only the bold can lead teams to success. An impending storm must not make you abandon ship and you must keep sailing towards your destination. For the brightest sunlight comes afterwards.

Ms. Kusoom today exemplifies this virtue better than most. The pandemic had ruined her financial condition. Consequentially forced to work, she was subjected to endless taunts and ridicule by family elders. The demotivation, at the crest, made her consider abandoning the family.

However, a timely messenger transformed her life.

The messenger told her of a congregation being held at his house and extended an invite. With her husband’s consent, she attended the same. The gathering was composed of women of her age and background. There, she heard of the visitors being from Navjyoti India Foundation, an institution established by Dr. Kiran Bedi with multifaceted goals ranging from empowerment of rural people to environmental sustainability. Kusoom Ji placed her full faith in them.

At Navjyoti Foundation, she received a warm welcome from the staff. Not only did she learn cooking skills through online training, her self-confidence skyrocketed with the staff’s encouragement and assistance. The staff even arranged for improved materials and designs for her cart. But the struggles hadn’t ceased yet.

In a highly conservative atmosphere, armed with the required skills and confidence, she mustered the audacity to establish a small business of running a food cart. But as it is said, God examines our worthiness before bestowing success upon us. The first two months were not encouraging at all; her earnings did not make it to even three digits and the taunts still rained. When the popular opinion was firmly against her success, most would have cowered away and gone back to base to reside in the mansion of excuses. But this lady squared up to reality every day through resilience and courage. Gradually, her financial graphs, like her cooking proficiency, began treading upwards. Today, her financial independence speaks volumes of her journey. She now inspires fellow women and young girls of her locality to aspire and to strive for independence and progress.