Balamani, 42, is a homemaker. Her husband is an agricultural labourer who also takes on odd jobs to sustain their household. They live in Gajwel, in the peri-urban fringes of the rural Hyderabad district. Their income rises and falls with the seasons, rainfall, and the availability of daily wage work. Most months, it is just enough.
What matters most to Balamani is her daughter, Lalitha, who is in her first year at a nearby college.
For Balamani, education represents a chance for her daughter’s life to move forward, away from the uncertainties of poverty.
When college fees, books, and related expenses began to rise, that change was at risk.
There was no single crisis, no dramatic moment. Just the slow tightening many families recognise: household needs taking priority, education framed as something that could be postponed “for a year.”
But a quiet fear remained: what if postponement became permanent?
When Balamani first approached the local self-help group (SHG), Sri Laxmi Mahila Sangam, she did not arrive asking only for money. She encountered a group of women who met regularly to share experiences and support one another through life’s common pressures.
The Mahila Sangam has been active for several years and currently includes around 15–20 members. Along with regular savings and internal lending, the group, supported by HASSS, participates in periodic capacity-building sessions on financial planning, healthcare, childcare, government schemes, and education.
Through these formal yet accessible gatherings, Balamani received encouragement to keep Lalitha enrolled. Conversations focused on prioritising education, managing expenses, and resisting the belief that withdrawal from college was inevitable.
Hearing other women speak about education as non-negotiable reshaped how Balamani viewed her choices, even before a loan was discussed.
When she eventually took a loan of ₹50,000, it was not an isolated transaction. It became part of a broader system of relationships and support. The loan covered Lalitha’s college fees and books. There was no sudden increase in income, only stability restored. Lalitha stayed in college.
The Mahila Sangam is supported by the Hyderabad Archdiocese Social Service Society (HASSS). HASSS field teams visit the Sangam’s elected leaders, the treasurer and president, each month.
These visits focus on reviewing records, mentoring leaders, planning training, and identifying linkages to other programmes that can strengthen livelihoods.
The strength of the Mahila Sangam lies in its ability to reshape decisions. Regular, structured conversations give members access to shared strategies and collective judgment.
Individual struggles are addressed through collective action, a process often invisible in reports but central to how support begins.
WHAT CHANGED, AND WHAT DIDN’T
Balamani’s confidence within the group grew. She began participating more actively, no longer only as someone seeking help, but as someone who belonged.
At the same time, life did not fundamentally change. The family still depends on seasonal income, and expenses must be balanced alongside loan repayment. HASSS did not remove these realities; it worked around them.
What did change was the family’s future trajectory. By ensuring Lalitha did not discontinue her education, the household protected a powerful driver of long-term economic stability.
Research shows that each additional year of education for a girl can significantly increase future earnings and strengthen household well-being.
HASSS is not solving poverty; that is systemic. But it is helping families avoid sliding backwards. For Balamani, that distinction matters. Deeply here.
HASSS’s work in Balamani’s life is not dramatic. It shows consistency: regular meetings, savings discipline, and a structured space where women can raise concerns early, whether rising school fees or falling income, and think through responses together.