On Sept. 30, 1993, at 3:56 a.m., a deadly earthquake shook Latur and Osmanabad, districts in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. It killed 10,000 people and demolished 52 villages.
While many nongovernmental organizations were involved in the immediate rescue and relief work, there was one group that worked a little differently. It focused on efforts that engaged with women from affected communities and aimed to ensure their long-term wellbeing. The Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), established four years later, began its journey by going door-to-door after the earthquake, meeting thousands of women. The group trained the women to become farmers and entrepreneurs, enabling them to become financially independent and rise above the adversity and loss they'd encountered.
