Sumathi is indeed a woman of mettle. A lady who has had to face a series of tragedies right from her young age, she is a lesson for those who crumble at the very sign of trouble. Married to a daily wager, Sumathi added to her husband’s meagre earnings by rearing a cow and attending to the cattle of her neighbour.
The first sign of trouble came when she delivered her son and soon realised that he was mentally challenged. Not one to lose hope, she worked harder. In about another two years she delivered another beautiful boy. Life began to move ahead happily until tragedy struck the family as her husband soon became bedridden due to acute TB.
She had to work harder to take care of two bed-ridden persons and the education of her second son. After a few years she lost her husband. She pinned her hopes on her second son who completed his basic studies and began to do small jobs. Her jovial son was a treasure for the battered Sumathi who thought her problems were over as her son started to earn well.
But fate had not done with the family. It visited the family again on a rainy evening in the form of a public transport bus which rammed into his son who was riding back home on his bike and took his life away. She picked up from there and resumed her life all over.
Today Sumathi is able to earn enough with her cows and buy medicines for her son. She is a role model in her village and is a motivational speaker, so to say, among her folks. BRIDGE is proud to present this plucky lady, an embodiment of integrity and never-say-die spirit and give the ACT Fibernet BRIDGE Resilience Award.
