Agartala, Aug 29: Swapna Sinha of Debicherra, a remote village in Dhalai district of Tripura, was leading her life as an ordinary housewife. But dedication and the journey as a Self Help Group (SHG) member paved her way for becoming Swanirbhar with a monthly income of around Rs. 30,000 to 35,000.

At a turning point of her life, she became a member of Dhanalakshmi Self Help Group of Tripura Rural Livelihood Mission (TRLM) under Durgachowmuhani RD Block and started her journey towards achieving the goal of self reliance by waving Manipuri traditional dress at home after receiving the first loan in the year 2017.

"It was completely my own work and the feeling I had after that is beyond everything and it cannot be expressed in words," Sinha said while sharing her success story in a jam-packed hall during a programme in Agartala on Sunday.

She then took another loan of Rs. 20,000 and helped her husband purchase an auto-rickshaw with a focus to overcome the financial problems.

While working with the SHG, Sinha noticed that the students of her village were dependant on the market for making photocopies of their study matters. The market is located far away from the village. She then availed the next loan of Rs. 50,000 and purchased a Xerox machine. As she said, it was now generating a good income and helping the students to a great extent.

She happily said that her participation in the SHG had given a boost to her income as well as enlightened her hidden talent.

Her success story was a noticeable part during Union Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh's interaction programme with the women SHG members. Even, the Union Minister later tweeted her success story to inspire others.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma along with others were also present in the programme.

According to Sinha, the SHG not only motivated her to become self reliant but also gave her a sense that she needs to do something for lending helping hands to her family.

As the government is focusing more on women empowerment through SHGs, Sinha's success story is inspiring.

Apart from financial activities, the SHG member was involved in awareness generation in Covid time as well as in vaccination.