Class 8 Dropout To Speaker At Harvard, Ruma Devi’s Journey Is Truly Inspiring – News18

Can you even fathom someone from a third-world country with no formal education or schooling and one day, addressing students of Harvard University at a conference? It may sound too good to be true but Ruma Devi from Barmer in Rajasthan has accomplished this unbelievable feat, becoming a source of pride for the country. Born into a lower-middle-class family and having to drop out of school, she soon made her way to becoming a guest speaker at Harvard University. Today, we chronicle her outstanding and commendable journey.

Born in Barmer, Ruma Devi had lost her mother at an early age. As soon as her mother died, her father washed his hands off Ruma Devi and sent her under the care of his uncle and aunt and he remarried again. Ruma’s uncle and aunt were not keen on letting her pursue her education and she studied in a local school only till the eighth standard. Ruma took up sewing and embroidery work from an early age, which her grandmother taught her.

Like the usual custom in her area, she was married off at the early age of 17. Ruma was good at sewing and embroidery but did not get a chance to work outside her home and use this skill. Instead, she just made her own clothes. Her in-laws were dependent on agricultural produce for their livelihood and due to the vagaries of the monsoon, they were not able to earn enough money to support themselves

Seeing the financial constraints in the house, she started thinking of ways in which she could help in the house. In 2008, Ruma gave birth to her first child but the child breathed his last within 48 hours. This broke her but after recovering, she persuaded her in-laws as well as two other women of the village to work with her. It was difficult as from where she belonged, regressive norms did not normally allow women to work outside the home.

Soon, she and 10 other women were able to contribute Rs 100 each and buy a second-hand sewing machine. Soon they started their sewing and embroidery work. She passed on her skills to the others and soon they were doing wonders. She soon networked, trained and provided employment to over 30,000 women from rural households.

Associated with Rural Development and Chetna Sansthan, Ruma Devi got a lot of work through them. She was called to deliver a speech and talk about her journey at the 17th Annual India Conference organised by Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phule University and Harvard University. Ruma Devi has also visited various countries including Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Singapore, Thailand and Sri Lanka. She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2018, the highest civilian honour for women in India.