For over 50 years Shantaben Hiraghar furtively used a clump of shrubs as a toilet. She lived in Kailashnagar, a dirty slum in Ahmedabad. “I used to team up with other women to go,” she explains. “It was most distressful.”
Life changed dramatically when she moved into Gokuldham Cooperative Housing Society in Meghaninagar. Shantaben now has a small flat with a bathroom and kitchen. “Sister, our homes are a real blessing,” she says. “We even have running water. SEWA Bank lent me money to set up my small shop selling snacks. Our lives. . .