5000+ Mahindra and Swaraj employees walked and jogged 9500 Lakh steps in 50 days to raise Rs. 1.3 Crores for women farmers through a unique initiative called ‘The Prerna Walkathon’.
What comes to your mind when you think of an Indian farmer?
I am sure your imagination will be somewhat similar to this picture below.
However, this is just 1/4th of the story. Did you know, that only 1 in every 4 Indian farmers is a man?
The rest 75% are women! A whopping 100 million women work in India’s agriculture.
If you think you were alone to think this way about ‘the Indian farmer’, don’t worry. Almost everyone thinks the same way! (Watch the 2-min video to know)
The frightening fact is that this 75% is the most deprived, under-represented, yet most pivotal part in India’s agriculture.
They toil the most and expect the least. They have to do as much work on the fields as men, at times even more. With it, they are also expected to make the meals, clean the homes, take care of the elderly, children and cattle.
And the best part is that they do all of it with a smile on their face. India’s women farmers are indeed the invisible force behind our nation’s agricultural prowess. They are the silent, unknown, most valuable contributor to our lives.
It is time we recognize the woman farmer as a dominant force in Indian agriculture.
‘Project Prerna’ by Mahindra & Mahindra is an ambitious program specially created to honour the superwomen who work super hard for our food.
Prerna’s primary purpose is to empower the woman farmer by conducting a series of transformational experiences in her life like self-help groups and entrepreneurship groups, tractor-trainings, teaching technology insights about soil strategy, crop rotation, fertilizers, pesticides, and their optimal use.
Its secondary aim is to sensitize the world at large about the lifestyle of India’s women farmers, the scale of their efforts, and the hardships they face with the hope of restoring respect and pride in the minds of our fellow countrymen and women towards their AnnaDaata (m: food giver).
‘The Prerna Walkathon’ was a 50-day long walkathon with Impact App, from October 15th, 2019 i.e. Mahila Kisan Diwas to December 5th, 2019 i.e. World Soil Day, where every step Mahindra & Swaraj employees and their families took raised money for the empowerment of women farmers and welfare of their families funded by Mahindra’s CSR!‘
To quote wisdom from an age-old African,
“If you educate a man, you educate an individual. If you empower a woman, you empower a nation.”
It’s time to Rise and empower India! Let’s do it.
#DeshKiShan #MahilaKisan #MahindraMarchesForMahilaKisan
