Chumki (name changed) never thought she would return home so soon. She and her husband had left their small village, Nanoor in Birbhum, West Bengal, to find work. They had settled far away in Kerala, working as daily laborers. Life was tough, but it was stable—until the pandemic hit. Suddenly, jobs vanished, and the couple was forced to return to their village, uncertain and empty-handed.

Soon after, her husband headed back to Kerala when work picked up. But Chumki stayed behind, jobless and alone, struggling to make ends meet. Days turned into weeks as she searched for a way forward.

Then one day, she met a Sewa volunteer in her village. The women in Nanoor were known for their Kantha stitching, a beautiful and traditional form of hand embroidery and quilting that originated in Bengal, India. Chumki had seen it all her life—but she had never been trained to do it herself. With encouragement from Sewa, she decided to learn quilt-making, a skill rooted in the Kantha craft.

It wasn’t easy. Her first attempts were full of mistakes, and progress was slow. But Chumki didn’t give up. She practiced daily, guided by determination and a dream of earning her income. Over time, her stitches grew more precise, her patterns more detailed. Quilt by quilt, she transformed.

Today, Chumki is one of the most skilled quilt-makers in her village. She crafts stunning king-size quilts, each measuring 120 by 120 inches, with a level of detail that few can match. Her embroidery boasts an incredible eight stitches per inch—a mark of true craftsmanship.

Thanks to her new skills, Chumki now earns between ₹15,000 and ₹20,000 a month. Her quilts not only support her family but also bring her confidence and recognition in the community.

Looking back, Chumki credits Sewa International’s SHE (Sanitation, Hygiene, and Empowerment Project for the Girl Child) team for changing her life. “Without their support, I don’t know how I would have survived,” she says. “They helped me find strength I didn’t know I had.”