SUCCESS STORIES

Ram Maya & Family

Ram Maya is a single mother to her son. Her husband died after devastating effects of the 2015 earthquake. The first time the NIVAS team met Ram Maya at her rural municipality, she was sharing a small storage space on the open-air porch of her relative’s earthquake-damaged house. Still, Ram Maya had the aura of confidence and inner strength. She had already built the foundation for her new house. However, she was struggling to meet her son’s daily needs and was without any other financial means to finish the project.  When NIVAS proposed to help her build her house, she could hardly believe what she had heard.

After joining forces to ensure her house would be completed before the nearest water tap went dry for the season (ie no water for concrete), Ram Maya became heavily involved in the process and in collaboration with NIVAS. She proposed that windows in our homes need grills for the safety of single women against threat of assault and wild animals. This was such a powerful insight, which was immediately incorporated into all NIVAS homes as women’s safety is of utmost priority for us. Ram Maya has been constantly inspiring our team and other village women through her attitude of perseverance even amidst constant hardships. Throughout the construction, she actively participated and contributed through whatever she could-concrete and aggregate mixing, laying bricks and cooking for the masons.

Ram Maya cried tears of happiness when the last touches were applied to her house. An impossible dream had come true.

Her biggest fear was always being told to leave whatever shelter she and her son had found. But now no one can ever ask them to leave again.

Now Ram Maya is safely focusing on her son and his schooling. We at NIVAS have definitely noticed his poise and confidence, like mother like son. And these days, Ram Maya is excited to join our livelihood program. Her main area of interest: goat farming.