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Bali ‐ the girl who journeyed from persecution to Hope

Bali’s family fled to India from Sindh in Pakistan fifteen years ago. As a refugee fleeing persecution, her childhood memories include images of a harrowing flight under the cover of night. She was only ten years old at that time, but vividly recalls hiding behind trees and shrubs, holding her breath in fear.


The family drifted to Sanjay Colony, Bhati Mines. A remote part of Delhi, almost unknown to the outside world, the dry terrain and the ramshackle huts here provided a familiar landscape. The mining activity in the region provided employment to the people from their village who had fled earlier. Bali’s family put up a mud and thatch home in the growing colony of hutments and started their life in the new country.

Her father opened a roadside vend and made a living selling daily home necessities. But a monthly income of 5000 rupees was never enough to provide for a family of seven. The first casualty was very predictably, Education. Growing up in a community displaced by external politics, they were faced with deep seated mistrust of any changes to the traditional social norms. Hence, neither Bali nor her three sisters reached school. The appalling situation was compounded by the absence of suitable schools and the apathy of the civic administration. Unschooled and unskilled, Bali and her sisters lived a marginalized life grappling with poverty and hopelessness. Later they were contacted by Sshrishti’s community worker and offered life changing opportunities. They joined the literacy and skill development classes conducted by Sshrishti. Bali and her sister Rajkumari soon became proficient in tailoring and joined the livelihood generation centre ‘Sshrish Jagriti’. Bali is a confident 25 years old woman today and her sister Rajkumari is 20. They work regularly at Sshrishti ’s centre creating fashion accessories and tailoring school uniforms. The fashion accessories are marketed by Sshrishti on various E‐Commerce portals like ebay, snapdeal and paytm and the school uniforms are used by all the students in Sshrishti ’s various learning centres.

Bali’s family income has increased substantially since they started working at Jagriti. The new found economic independence has made Bali determined to help her peers, the young women who are victims of rights abuse. Now she is an active member of Sshrishti ’s grievance redressal forum‐the ‘Mahila Panchayat’ and helps other women cope with issues of domestic violence, financial exclusion, child custody and various other practices that rob women of their confidence and dignity. Bali is today an active member of a Self Help Group started by Sshrishti. She represents the new generation of women in Bhati Mines, who remain steeped in family traditions yet continue to journey towards self‐ fulfillment.

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