Karimnagar: Mushtipalli and two hamlets underwent a remarkable transformation on many fronts, thanks to awareness programmes and counselling conducted by Helping Hearts Welfare Society, a textile town based voluntary organisation. Significantly, this village of 5,000 people in Sircilla mandal is not registering suicides of weavers and labourers of power looms for the past three months. Incidentally, the suicide of a weaver was recorded in this village 20 years ago. The voluntary organisation chose the village following collector Neetu Prasad adopting it in August.
“Initially, we conducted health camps and literacy improvement programmes in order to develop rapport with residents. Later, we organised group counselling to illiterate women and men who were addicted to liquor for providing tips to overcome their challenges and weaknesses. Over a period of time, we could instil confidence among villagers over life and make them optimistic. So, the village has not registered a suicide in the past three months,” explained Kanukuntla Punnam-chander, president of the organisation.
In the past, they were not sharing their problems with anybody. Now, they are speaking out about their hardships with their friends, relatives and peers. They are able to tackle financial crisis and desist from consumption of alcohol. They adopted a positive way of thinking towards life. They learned importance and meaning of life. They stopped resorting to drastic steps, reasoned Mr Punnam-chander, a psychologist and psychiatrist.
The voluntary organisation’s 75 volunteers teach basic education to 577 residents of the village, aged between 25 and 50 years, in two phases. As many as 435 female and 142 male residents could learn to read and write in Telugu. Sixty of them are going to appear in an examination for Class X through open education system. A total of 171 men could abstain from alcohol following counselling by members of the Helping Hearts.
Belt shops have been closed down with women deciding to oppose sale of alcohol and menace of gudumba has been abolished in the village. Similarly, scores of women are getting empowerment by setting paper-plate making units with financial assistance from district rural development agency.
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