Eleven Goats and a Thousand Hopes: Chakuben’s Story of Survival and Spirit

In the fields outside Motikhervan, when the sun lifts itself over the crops, Gamit Chakuben is already awake, her thoughts moving ahead of her footsteps. At thirty-eight, Chakuben has studied up to twelfth standard, mastered computer classes, and once worked in a Farmer Company in Surat—a life that promised a different future.

Today, those skills are memories she carries as she lives at her mother’s house, in a room that is not her own, in a home that belongs to her brother. Her world is small: five family members share the space, their days stitched together by farming and the steady rhythm of animal husbandry. Chakuben’s hands find work where it is needed—feeding animals, fetching water, keeping the house running as quietly as possible.

Her biggest hope is her daughter, studying BAC Nursing, determined to carve a life with her own effort. But every semester brings new worry, as fees arrive and in-laws turn away, offering no help for their granddaughter. Every goat Chakuben rears and sells goes straight into paying her daughter's fees or buying necessities for the home. She cannot save a rupee; what little comes in from her widow’s pension helps, but never lasts long.

Chakuben does not have land or a house in her own name. Her brother’s house has water and a toilet, but nothing belongs to her. Her in-laws have not given her property, and even the family land from her parents remains out of reach—her inheritance frozen by process and circumstance. The paperwork is there, but the land is not.

Still, she keeps going. Eleven goats graze outside, a small herd that represents her independence. She dreams of growing their numbers, of earning more from animal husbandry. Chakuben wants to open a breakfast center or a tea stall, maybe run her own small business, so she can stand on her own feet. There are days when she lets herself imagine a house in her name, land she can work for her daughter and herself, and the relief that would bring.

Challenges come daily. The struggle to inherit property, the pain of living in someone else’s home, the pressure to support her daughter’s dreams—these never leave her side. Yet Chakuben endures, finding courage in each sunrise, and hope in every goat that bleats in the yard.

At Single Mother Foundation, we walk beside women like Chakuben, whose stories are written in resilience and quiet ambition. Real change starts with direct support, with access to schemes, knowledge, and rights, passed from one woman to another. Every story we tell is a step toward dignity—a future where women can earn, build, and inherit as their own. If you want to help women like Chakuben move toward self-reliance, write to connect@singlemotherfoundation.org.

Brought to you by Nishant Joshi, who believes voices like Chakuben’s light the way for change where it is needed most.