Smt. Hemavathi asked a profound question to Dr. Heggade: “What happens to the woman’s mind when her body is empowered? Who develops her as a person?” This question birthed Jnanavikasa, a program that would eventually touch over 3 lakh women across 5,000 villages.
The Gelathi Initiative
Recognizing that knowledge alone cannot heal deeply wounded spirits, Smt. Hemavathi launched Gelathi. Many rural women carry the trauma of domestic violence, sexual abuse, marital infidelity, and social rejection in silence.
Gelathi provides trained counselors who listen without judgment and help women rebuild their self-respect. It helps abandoned mothers raise their children without shame. It creates a support network that stands with women in their darkest hours. Smt. Hemavathi personally inaugurates these counselling centers, sending a powerful message.
Women’s Leadership
Hemavathi does not believe women should be merely recipients of help. She champions their ascent to leadership positions. Within SKDRDP’s extensive network of SelfHelp Groups and community organizations, women now hold executive positions, make financial decisions, and oversee project implementation.
A woman who once could not speak in public now chairs village development committees. A girl who was denied schooling now manages her group’s finances of lakhs of rupees. The transformation from beneficiary to decisionmaker fundamentally changes not just individual women but entire village power structures.
The Ajji Storytelling Initiative
Recognizing that rural grandmothers possess centuries of accumulated knowledge, about farming, health, relationships, spirituality, she began documenting and promoting their stories. Through this initiative Smt. Hemavathi has created platforms where Ajjis are celebrated as teachers and wisdom-keepers, not as burdens on families.
