Preeti Kapadia

Preeti Kapadia

Preeti Kapadia, is a 35-year-old woman, who grew up in an average middle class household in rural Gujarat. Her parents were supportive of her education and she graduated from college with distinction. Soon after, she married and settled down in Morthan Village in Olpad Taluka, Gujarat with her husband and in-laws. Morthan was a tiny village of 1000 inhabitants that lacked paved roads access to nearby cities, which were often not usable during the heavy rains in the monsoon season. Living in a much smaller place than where she grew up was indeed a different experience for Preeti. However, being completely cut off from the main cities during her first monsoon season there was a different challenge altogether. She had never witnessed how life in a village came to standstill due to the heavy rains that wreaked havoc.

Seeing everybody around her struggle due to lack of basic amenities struck a chord in Preeti’s heart. She decided to bring about a positive change to the situation. That year, she decided to contest for the Sarpanch (village head) elections. As an educated woman, it was not difficult for her to instill confidence in her people, and she soon won the village elections. As the Sarpanch, Preeti first took the responsibility to ensure construction of proper concrete roads in her village. In addition, she worked hard to address hygiene and sanitation issues, planning and laying internal village roads and drainage systems. Preeti’s efforts have helped the villagers to be better equipped for handling atrocities of the nature. Her stellar leadership is bringing about social change in her village, improving lives for everyone in a big way.

Main Story- The village in its new avatar is a testimony to the hard work and meticulous planning done by Preeti.