These women are lighting up their lives with the help of solar lamps

Dhanmanjuri and Group comprise 3 members.One of the women was already dressed and all set to attend a wedding. I assured her that this won’t take a long time. When she was satisfied with my answer, the woman nodded and settled down. I requested Dhanamanjuri to talk to me for a while. She is a 54-year-old woman. She operates a hotel. Dhanamanjuri said, “All my children are married. I have 4 daughters and two sons. My eldest son is an auto driver and my second son is a mason.” All of Dhanamanjuri’s daughters received embroidery training. Dhanamanjuri ’s husband operates the hotel with her. They earn Rs 40,000 on a monthly basis. She said, “I serve rice, fish curry, snacks and other items in my hotel.” Guneshwari , one of the group members runs a juice shop. She said, “Earlier, it was very difficult to extract the sugarcane juice at night. I had to close the shop by 5:30 PM. However, after obtaining the lamp, I can work till 8 PM”. Dhanamanjuri’s hotel has no electricity. She said, “Since there is no electricity in my hotel, the lamp is my only hope. I have two lamps in my hotel. I use one lamp while cooking. The other lamp is for the customers.” Dhanamanjuri also operates a tailoring business. She said, “ Though the electric supply is not erratic while sewing the clothes, the lamp reduces the intense eye strain.”