The Museum of Digital Society: A Living Archive of Digital Inclusion
The success stories coming out of SoochnaPreneur centres reminds us again of the need and value of ensuring access which helps those in need to reach out to the right kind of support.
Often, a small financial support offers a lot of social protection which has been the intention behind the Social Protection project, Samhita. Ensuring that those in need are felt protected in their social circle and cushioning against the dire consequences of hopelessness opens pathways for further self driven improvisation of their lives.
Shambhu Mahto is an elderly man from Ramgarh, Jharkhand who has suffered greatly as a result of the untimely deaths of his son and wife. He has seven family members, including his widowed daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. His grandchildren are all minors who cannot work to support themselves. They have a small plot of land for agricultural purposes and manage to support their family.
In the recent past he applied for Old Age Pension through our Soochnapreneur centre with relevant documentation to Mukhiya (Village Headman), who passed it to Panchayat Sewak, thereafter, he submitted all the documents to the Block Office. Later on he started receiving pension amounts of 1,000 rupees per month which was a great relief for him and his family members.
Shambhu Mahto and his family members were living a content life a few years ago, but the untimely deaths of his family members was a huge setback for the remainder of the family, changing their entire situation and driving them towards starvation. Following that, his daughter-in-law and he began cultivating for their survival.
The pension amount for family members is not large, but it is good government support for a needy person, and Shambhu Mahto is satisfied with it.
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