Dreamers - Dreams Foundation - Seeding and helping grassroots entrepreneurs

Meet Vajiben

 

Dream: To receive gains from their harvest instead of losing it on loans

Vajiben Minama lives in a very small village of the Dahod district. She and her husband migrate to the cities for labor work. A few years ago, she joined Sahaj Training to learn, and started earning by making handicrafts as a home-based worker. She and her husband decided to concentrate on farming and not migrate to cities with living on roads or construction sites. This decision means they now need to prepare before the onset of monsoons.Dreams has supported them with loans for good seeds, fertilizer and land development. As during this season the rate of interest is so great a sum that it practically nullifies their income from Agriculture, this loan is a godsend.She is full of gratitude and hope and is smiling.
 

Meet Vinaben

 

Dream: To receive a grant for her son’s medical education

Vinaben is working very hard in the slums with rag pickers and dreams of a bright future for her children. Her younger son wants to do MD after his MBBS, but due to lack of insufficient funds, she is not able to allow her son to take admission. Veena behn has devoted her life to people struggling at the grassroots level and is now faced with a struggle with her children’s needs. Her dream of getting a grant of Rs 75,000 to continue her son's education and also to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor, is fulfilled.

Meet Gita behn

 

Dream: To escape an exploitative loan and put the interest that would have been accrued to better use

Gita behn has been working with trash collection for years and struggling for finances. Her husband works in a gas agency. Few days back, her husband purchased a new loading tempo, for which they have taken a loan from some moneylender at a high rate of interest of 3% per month. Only now has she become aware about the work done by Dreams foundation, and she is dreaming of getting a grant of Rs 50,000 to save herself from paying a high rate of interest and instead, invest that money into her children's education.

Meet Apeksha

 

Dream: To be supporting her family and improve their lifestyle

Apeksha Naroda is newly married. She married against her parents’ wishes so they disowned her. She is staying with her parents-in-law. The family is sustaining their living on the earnings of her husband who works in a parlor and her mother-in-law who is a sweeper. They live in a rented room and are struggling to make two ends meet. Apeksha knew the art ofstitching, so she decided to help herfamily by earning through tailoring. With support from Dreams, she bought a sewing machine. Now the family is hoping for a better future.
 

Meet Gautam

 

Dream: To develop community living and loan grant facilities to protect sugarcane cutters from the deceitful contractors

Gautam works in the Subir district in Gujarat as a Gramshilpi.
The plight of the migrant sugarcane cutters and their families is really bad. They have to borrow money at an extremely high rate of interest to survive when they migrate from place to place. They live without water and electricity in harsh conditions and are abused by the contractor. The children don’t go to schools.
We have identified and formed 3 groups to grant loans to so that they do not find themselves in a position to have to borrow funds. They can develop community living facilities wherever they go, instead of being at the contractor’s mercy. This will also give them the freedom to enjoy the fruits of their hard labor and live a much better life. The meagre income was previously all directed away for payment of interest.