Meet Kali

Kali was born in a tribal household in Alirajpur and contracted polio as a child. Born a girl, poor, and now disabled, she had three strikes against her before she was twelve. 

However, her life changed when she attended the Barli Institute's six-month training course. Now, she reads and writes, owns a tailoring shop, and earns enough money to not only support herself but also to pay for the education of all the children in her family. She has taken the initiative to form a ‘micro-financing group to help 12 other women grow their own businesses. She has also purchased a red scooter and has fitted it so that she can get around more easily. 

While we were visiting her village, her father approached us and said, “Thank you for supporting the education of my daughter. She is now a source of inspiration for all the girls in our village, and all the fathers and mothers want their daughters to be like Kali.” 

In 2019, Kali hired two other girls to help in her shop and saved enough funds to purchase a piece of land – the first female land owner in her village. Recently a group of friends raised enough funds to build Kali’s home for her. In return, she has pledged to train 10 other girls to start their own business. In addition, she will also use her home as a centre where she will offer classes for physically disabled women / senior aged women who cannot come to Barli for training on a regular basis.