Paru Moreshwar Hirve always dreamt of making Ghotavade, Kasarwadi an empowered, clean and poverty-free community where women are capable of transforming their own lives. A village, its habits, and its traditional school of thought can be a tough nut to crack, from the inside and out. But Hirve, with the help of Swades Foundation, made her dream come true. From working as a labourer on daily minimum wage to leading Swades Foundation’s Dream Village initiative in her village and working in a factory with a sizeable salary, Hirve has come a long way. She attributes all this to her thirst for learning and passion for helping people.
Uneducated and married at a very young age, Hirve has faced challenges at every step. After her separation from her husband, she realised the importance of education. When Swades Foundation approached the village with their Dream Village project, Hirve was chosen as a Swades Mitra (Community Health Volunteer). She played an instrumental role in improving the standard of living and quality of life of the gram population through improved amenities, enhanced human development, and better livelihood opportunities, “We didn’t have roads, toilets, no running water and even though life was tough there was nothing we were doing about it. When the foundation approached us and told us that there was a way to transform and bring change to the village, I didn’t think twice. What I understood is that we need to be self-reliant and not expect charity. Once four other members of the community and I were successful in building toilets in our homes, it was easy for us to encourage the others in the village to change their ways.” said Hirve.
The end goal for Swades Foundation is to make the village sundar (beautiful), saksham (empowered), swasth (healthy), sakshar (providing education for all) and swachch (clean) – a blueprint for the ideal village. When asked about the changes she and the community have been able to bring about in the village she said, “Today every household has access to an individual toilet, potable drinking water through taps at home, access to healthcare services, education, and opportunities for a diverse range of livelihoods. I make sure that every child especially girls go to school and graduate. I am proud to say that we are an open defecation-free community, all 60 houses have 60 toilets.
Achieving these goals were no easy task but Hive has enjoyed every minute of it, “I enjoy the training session with Swades foundation, I get to learn so many new things, things I would’ve never even dreamt of learning or doing. When we ourselves get the opportunity to change our own destiny, when we share a common goal and act on our intentions, we can make life better and thrive.”