Manjula’s Story

Manjula is an 18-year-old girl from Budshetnal village of Koppal Taluk. She was born with a cleft palette and has suffered from speech issues her whole life.
Manjula studied up to 10th standard, but was not able to pass her final exams due to her health issues. Her mother has a history of mental illness and her father is a busy farmer.
Last year, Manjula started receiving counselling services from Samuha, and  was also taught tailoring skills. Upon completion of her training, Samarthya provided her with a tailoring machine and now she is able to use her skills for income generation. Throughout this process, she continued to attend counselling sessions with Mr. Manohar.

Later Manjula was referred to SDM Hospital in Dharwad for medical treatment. She underwent palate surgery and after the surgery she showed a drastic improvement in her communication and speaking skills.
As Manjula is the main caregiver of her mother, mother got medical treatment Koppal. Manjula continues taking refresher courses with Samarthya to learn advanced tailoring skills, and attends monthly support groups where girls with similar backgrounds create microcredit programs for their each other.