Sunanda Dhage  “One Born to Survive.”57,engaged in Home Industry since 1981. Works on cross stitch embroidery and wool embroidery. Mother of two children. A son and a daughter. Daughter married. Son works as a courier boy.
Sunanda was born in September 1948 in Bagalkot, 100 km from Hubli. She is the fourth child among five daughters of late Malujappa and Savitri Bai. Father Malujappa died when she was 5. She studied upto class III in the village school. Her father was a village weaver who weaved sarees for women. Later, she was married to Hanumantha Rao from Hubli who worked in the Indian Railway as a gang man. But alcoholism claimed his life. The responsibility of raising two children fell on the shoulder of Sunanda. Earlier, during the birth of her son she was detected with leprosy. Ignorance of the disease led to its severity. She was faced
with the challenging task of raising her children and putting up a brave front against 

the stigma of the society. But she is the one born to survive. She just needed a little succor and the much-needed succor came from RTU. She was treated of the disease by the Hubli Hospital for the Handicapped and sent to RTU for rehabilitation. She learnt quick and with the wages she earned from RTU she raised her two children. She has a house of her own, which she built with the interest free housing loan from RTU