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Gitaben Harijan , Panchayat Member and Gram Sathi (Abhlod, Block: Devgadh Baria, District: Dahod)

Gitaben Harijan , Panchayat Member and Gram Sathi (Abhlod, Block: Devgadh Baria, District: Dahod) 04Apr
April 8, 2021Photo Stories, Stories from the field areas of Devgadh Mahila Sangathan and ANANDI organisation

Gitaben Harijan , Panchayat Member and Gram Sathi (Abhlod, Block: Devgadh Baria, District: Dahod)

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Panchayat Member and Gram Sathi Gitaben Harijan

Gitaben Harijan has come to the rescue of many in her village and one such family is that of Kavitaben Patel, a young widowed woman of 30 years of age. In 2018, Kavitaben lost her husband Arjunbhai to prolonged illness and after that life has been difficult, especially taking care of her four children and in-laws. Her in-laws struggled a lot as farm labourers to sustain the family; however old age and blindness posed as hindrance and the family could barely bring food to the table. At this juncture, Gitaben Harijan came in contact and helped Kavitaben in getting Rs. 1250/- as widow pension and also helped the in-laws in getting a monthly old age pension of Rs. 750/-.

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Panchayat Member and Gram Sathi Gitaben Harijan

People were not getting sufficient ration as eligible from the ration shop at Ranipura village. Gitaben Harijan took this issue up and worked hard so that people get what they are entitled to. With her constant efforts, Gitaben has created an image of a helper in both the villages and people often consult with her to resolve their issues.

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Panchayat Member and Gram Sathi Gitaben Harijan

Digital literacy training conducted by Devgadh Mahila Sangathan and ANANDI has empowered Gitaben Harijan, a 9th standard pass out to work with an Android smart phone. This has helped her in making information available for people, so that they can use government schemes. Knowledge about mobile applications has helped her in using an MIS app created by ANANDI to access information as well as to share updates.

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Panchayat Member and Gram Sathi Gitaben Harijan

Self-respect is one of the important aspects that have been developed in Gitaben as a result of all the training programmes and exposure received from ANANDI. Being a dalit woman, she used to doubt her worth. But now as an empowered Panchayat member and Gram Sathi, she never shies away from exercising her rights nor sitting on chair during meetings. This has created a sense of parity in her among all.

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Panchayat Member and Gram Sathi Gitaben Harijan

Gitaben Harijan has empowered herself with the trainings from Sangathan and ANANDI. She has also learnt to apply for government schemes and has helped many to stand on their own. With her knowledge and support, many women have become self reliant now. Gitaben visits Mamlatdar office on her own on a regular basis to get development work moving on in her village. These efforts have created a dream in her mind to become the Sarpanch of Abhlod – Bhadbha group panchayat in the coming years.