Husband’s Name: Mr. Ramahari Naik, 
Village / GP Name: Kadadihi / Shyamsundarpur GP, 
SHG Name/Designation: Maa Binapani SHG/ Secretary, 
Major income source: Livestock rearing and Vaccination service to Livestock

The above mentioned village is located on the foothills of Simplipal forest and comprises of 40 tribal families. The families have been primarily dependent on Paddy cultivation and selling of forest products. The community is very social and cooperative towards each other and participate in all the social celebrations. NYDHEE with support from Heifer International has been working in this village from the past 5 years. Under the OSED project Cornerstone trainings along trainings on SHG management, Livestock management, kitchen garden development, and backyard poultry. Along with this, keeping the social development aspect in mind, training on promotion of Gender Equality was also given so that the community could reflect upon the present gender roles and responsibilities and what needed to be changed.

The above mentioned trainings were given to three SHGs namely- Jai Shree Ram, Binapani, Jaybadam. These were the OG groups formed under the project. Mrs. Sombari Naik was the member and Secretary of Maa Binapani group. She along with Mrs. Sitamnai Naik and Mrs. Sumitra Naik were selected as Leaders for subsequently passing the training to POGs. They successfully fulfilled this responsibility and trained the POG on Livestock management, Vaccination, Shed maintenance, Feed management, and Roles and Responsibilities of CAVE.

Mrs. Sombari Naik has always been an enthusiast in learning and excelling in what she does. When she was given the training on vaccination and Livestock management, she quickly grasped the training and practiced her learning without any hesitation. She began with vaccinating her own goats. When her livestock did not succumb to prevalent mortality, the people in her village began to trust her and gradually started asking her to vaccinate their livestock. She was able to earn Rs. 305 in a day and most importantly she gained confidence in herself that she can achieve something through her skills. Eventually she started going to 3-4 villages in a week for complete vaccination of the livestock and thus earning Rs. 500 per day. Her family members were initially hesitant about her work but seeing her dedication and commitment, they supported her all the way.

Observing her unfaltering commitment towards her work and the welfare of the community, Heifer International felicitated her in a locally organized event and assured its support. NYDHEE also supported her with 4 days of CAVE training and a cool-box. Today Mrs. Sombari Naik covers all the 18 villages under Shyamsundarpur Panchayat and ensures that 100% vaccination is complied with. This has led to a massive decrease in the mortality of livestock as compared to previous times. She is able to earn 6k to 7k per month and is able to contribute towards the household expenses. Being an earning member of her family gives her the say and decision making confidence in matters pertaining to expenditures, family issues, social matters, etc. Her children are now on the way to Graduate from college and she has been planning for a while for purchasing a two wheeler for herself so that she can go to distant villages to offer her services. Women now look up to her as their role model.