Woman Of Worth - Ms. Jyothi Reddy!

It is the 8th of March and the entire world is celebrating International Women’s Day. So, first and foremost, here’s wishing every woman in the world a beautiful and happy Women’s Day.

Women are an example of strength, determination and endless power, unconditional love and what not! No offence, dear men, but women are the ones who have been bestowed with unmatched strength by God that makes them special in their own way.

Every Women’s Day, while wishing every other woman in our life a good life, we also remember the female heroes in the world for their remarkable achievements. We all know Kalpana Chawla, Sunita Williams, Kiran Bedi, Mary Kom and Bachendri Pal. But, there are more woman heroes in the world than we know who have risen from zero and achieved success in their life with their determination, hope and strength. One amongst them is Ms. Jyothi Reddy.

Ms. Jyothi Reddy is a living inspiration to the world, a ray of hope for every individual in the world and not only women, to go ahead, chase one’s dreams and emerge successful. Her inspiring story begins from zero and ends where she is now a hero in the true sense of the word.

So the story begins when Jyothi was merely in her teens. She was born into a poor family and had three siblings. Since her father could not support and feed all the children, Jyothi and one of her siblings had to live in an orphanage on the pretext of having lost their mother to fate. Young and sensitive, Jyothi obviously did not have a good childhood staying away from her family in an orphanage. 

One night, on Maha Shivratri, Jyothi, along with her friends at the orphanage, went out for a movie, a love story that fascinated her and inspired her to free herself from the clutches of fate and build a better life that spells success and love. Since then, Jyothi’s dreams changed forever and she dreamt of marrying someone whom she loved dearly.

Fate, however, played a bad role and she was married off to a poor farmer by her parents when she was merely 15. Of course, her dreams crashed! While she had dreamt of marrying her love and leading a rich life, she was married off to another poor man who she hadn’t even known anytime in life. Her fate only expected her to toil in the farms all day, under the scorching sun and prepare dinner for her family after returning home in the evening.

Also, within two years, Jyothi had become a mother to two daughters. At that time, her earning was merely Rs. 5 per day. Naturally, she could do nothing special for her daughters no matter how much she yearned for it. She did not have money to buy them toys, clothes or medicines and all she could do was dream and hope that one day her fate would change.

Since she had lived in an orphanage before marriage, Jyothi knew the plight of girls who lived away from their families. In order to teach them and give them a better life, Jyothi soon began teaching at a small orphanage in Telangana. Soon after, she was promoted. She now visited multiple schools and orphanages all over Warangal in Telangana to teach children and secure a good future for them.

This is when her life took a turn for the good. An educated woman that she was, she now started dreaming bigger and better. She realized that she was not born to be a farm labourer in a small village and that she could achieve something bigger with her determination and strength. 

This is when the idea of visiting the US struck her mind. With the help of a cousin who motivated her to shift to the US, she managed to visit the country, find a job there and settle down temporarily. Once in the US, Jyothi took up many odd jobs before she finally decided to start her own business. In the meanwhile, she completed many courses in computers from some reputed institutions and she now had the knowledge, skills, perseverance and determination of becoming an entrepreneur.

In 2000, Jyothi founded the company Key Software Solutions which is now a $15 million IT empire. When success started rushing her way, she brought her husband and children to the US as well and settled down there for the good. 

Today, she owns about 6 houses in the US and 2 in India. She also had a dream of driving a car since her childhood which she now lives by driving a Mercedes Benz. 

Where once she did not have even a single pair of shoes to wear and had to walk miles barefoot to reach school, she now owns over 200 pairs of shoes! Where she did not have money to buy a sari back in Telangana, she now has saris worth lakhs of rupees. 

 And that’s not it. She now works with multiple associations across India that contribute to the education of girls and empower women to change their fortunes. Every year, she makes it a point to visit India to celebrate her birthday at orphanages with girls and children who are deprived of a quality life that they deserve.

Truly, she is a living legend! The Kakatiya University, that had once rejected her for a job opportunity, now has an entire chapter on her in English that is read by multiple students. She has literally made the impossible possible and lives a quality life today.

Jyothi has shown us that nothing can stop a person from reaching his goals once he or she is ignited with passion, determination and hope. No matter whether it is a man or a woman, one can achieve anything in the world with sheer patience and passion.

Now that’s a story worth sharing with the world on Women’s Day, isn’t it?