Three years ago, Draupadi, a young tribal woman, started her own small business activity after learning new techniques for fish farming, thanks to the Good Shepherd Economic Justice project in Garratola, India. Her home was a humble mud house with thick walls and only a small opening as a window, where she lived together with her husband and their three children.
Today, Draupadi works on her pond and, every summer season, she prepares the deposit of new fingerlings bought from the seed money of the program. She has consistently increased the income for her and her family, and she has been successful in applying for government schemes to construct a new two-story house and a well. She is planning to expand her small activity to grow fruit, such as mangos, by accessing a grant from the agricultural department. Her children are attending school and are happy to do their homework in their new, bright brick house. Draupadi appears to be a different woman from three years ago: she is more confident, smiles readily and knows that she can succeed in what she wants. A new life awaits Draupadi and her family, free from discrimination and economic insecurity.
