SEWA - Success Stories
"No lines can stop me": Rekha Vaghela
 Rekha, (which means line), recognizes that there are no lines drawn to prevent her from achieving her ambition. Her journey to becoming an IT instructor at the Sanand center seems like an episode from a television soap opera.
I want my respect in society to go up. I do not want to be dependent on any one for anything
--Rekha Vaghela, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
One day, while dropping her son to school, Rekha met an old college friend, who works in SEWA. She told her about the SEWA movement and prompted Rekha to attend the training. Then she came to know about the computer-training center at Sanand, Ahmedabad. She wanted to do the course but got no support from her in-laws who were of the opinion that the daughter-in-law doesn't need to do any course.
But Rekha was determined to the course. So she devised a plan wherein she would leave the house every morning saying that she was going to work in the fields and got her friends to vouch for her. She had some savings in the bank from her previous employment and she used that money to show as her daily wage earnings. Once she finished the course in February 2006 she told her husband about it. This was just the first obstacle.
In March 2006, a ten-day computer hardware training was organized in Ahemdabad for which Rekha was selected. Rekha's mother-in-law did not want Rekha to go and refused to look after Rekha's five-year-old son. But Rekha decided to go ahead with the course. On being asked how she felt about leaving her son behind, she said, "Once I decide on something I achieve it. I just did not let my thoughts dwell on my home. I just switched off that part of me." In April, she started working as an instructor at the very center where she trained.
This is 25-year-old Rekha Vaghela with a five-year-old son and also a graduate in Rural Studies from North Gujarat University. She stays in a joint family with her in-laws, widowed brother-in-law and an unmarried sister-in-law. Her husband works with the Indian Oil Corporation and earns about Rs 1,500 per month.
Having stayed in a hostel from Class VII till graduation, Rekha has a very independent mind and upbringing. She left a job in a factory where though the earnings were more, the work was boring and repetitive. The job as an instructor is something that Rekha enjoys as she sees herself growing in this job. "I want to learn more, and ensure that my son also learns."
"I want my respect in society to go up. I do not want to be dependent on any one for anything," adds Rekha. Her in-laws are now happy with her job and Rekha even supports her mother-in-law monetarily when she needs it and feels very happy to be in a position where she can give to others rather than having to ask.
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