Economic Growth India Project #3907

Make Women in Rural India Financially Secure

by Seva Mandir

Make Women in Rural India Financially Secure

Project Report | Nov 30, 2017
Laxmi's journey towards prosperity

By Atul Lekhra | Manager- Online Donor Communication

Dear Friend,

One of the major objectives behind the formation of Seva Mandir’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) is to enable tribal women to achieve economic prosperity through being able to borrow money from within the community.

Laxmi, a resident of Rama village in Udaipur district has taken full advantage of what was available to her. However, three years ago it was a very different story for Laxmi who had very little because of her poor economic background, and friends or relatives reluctant to support her financially.

After joining one of Seva Mandir’s SHGs her life has been completely turned around. Initially she was granted a small loan from her SHG to purchase two goats, which she nurtured and some time later she sold for a good profit. After a couple of similar projects, she successfully paid back her loans and decided to ask for a larger loan of Rs. 15,000 ($233) and bought more goats to sell later for a good profit. She repaid her loans and even managed to put some money aside for her future.

Then, a year ago Laxmi decided to branch out – she bought a buffalo and two cows and now sells milk and other dairy products as a dairy business. Her continuous hard work, promptness at repaying her loans and risk-taking have served as an inspiration for all members of her community and it has motivated other women to venture out into new avenues. She also supported her husband by setting up and opening a small shop selling jewellery and cosmetics and this continues to thrive.

Through clever and careful use of her loans, Laxmi has been able to generate more income and have regular cash-flow through the constant buying and selling of livestock. She now owns 45 goats, one buffalo and two cows which give her a good return every month. She has done so well in these last three years that she has also managed to have a house built from a loan and her savings.

Laxmi says: “The SHG helped me a lot due to the low rate of interest on loans, as well as offering me different kinds of loans for my various economic needs – this has helped my family in many ways. Also, more importantly, I don’t have to go to anyone’s door or any individual to ask to borrow money.”

The entrepreneurial spirit that Laxmi has shown in the past five years has had a tremendous impact on other women in her community, who now look to her for inspiration and guidance. In the last two years Laxmi has risen to become the head of her village and its Self-Help Group.

Without your support none of this would be possible, so a heartfelt thank you goes out to you for supporting our efforts in empowering women. The empowerment and autonomy of women are essential for the achievement of sustainable development.

I am also happy to share with you that we are participating in GlobalGiving’s 2017 Year-End Campaign. The campaign will run from 29^th November to 31^st December 2017. GlobalGiving will award prizes and special recognition to the organizations throughout the campaign as well at the end of the campaign. Your support for our project will help us win bonus prizes and special recognition.

We would love to hear your feedback and comments on our program. Please reach out to us at atul.lekhra@sevamandir.org

With great thanks,

Atul Lekhra and the Seva Mandir Team

Follow us on www.facebook.com/sevamandir

Links:

Permalink

Sep 1, 2017
Collective Efforts of Women against Alcoholism

By Atul Lekhra | Manager- Online Donor Communication

Dear Friend,

Thank you for supporting our efforts in empowering women.

Without your support none of this would be possible, so a heartfelt thank you goes out to you all!

Through todays update I would like to share with you the remarkable story of an empowered group of women who took collective action against alcoholism and domestic abuse in their village.

Seva Mandir strives for the improvement of the political, economic and social status of the women who live in the small villages of Southern Rajasthan, India. We have created inter-loaning groups called Self Help Groups. With the formation of self-help groups, women not only have the facility to take loans and save money, but they also get a platform to discuss socio-cultural issues in their village and families.

In Vasol village, at one of the self-help group monthly meetings, group members agreed that alcoholism had become a blight in the area. Domestic violence was also identified as a serious problem.

After a long discussion, the group concluded that easily available alcohol was a contributing factor to the escalating levels of domestic violence. With this revelation the group issued a stern warning to the local liquor shop owner stating that he must cease to sell alcohol in the area otherwise the problem of domestic abuse would remain rampant in the village.

This issue remains ongoing but the courage and effort made by the group is admirable. The self-help groups have provided the women with a platform to voice their concerns and take collective action against injustices in their community. Without these self help groups many women in village communities would not have the opportunity to let their opinions be heard and take control of their own lives.

The empowerment and autonomy of women is essential for the achievement of sustainable development, so please continue your support!

We would love to hear your feedback and comments on our program. Please reach out to us at atul.lekhra@sevamandir.org

With great thanks,

Atul Lekhra and the Seva Mandir Team

Links:

Permalink

Jun 5, 2017
Devali had access to help during her time of need

By Atul Lekhra | Manager- Online Donor Communication

Women play a major role in sustaining families and communities in our working areas, in addition to their domestic responsibilities. They are engaged in agriculture and allied activities and also seek casual labour near their homes. Since most women are illiterate, they can only undertake unskilled and semi-skilled work, which restricts their chances of earning a reasonable income. Traditionally, women have not been involved in many entrepreneurial activities, which further limits their opportunities. As sources of income are limited, there is considerable need for credit in these areas, but very few means of securing it. As a result women mostly borrow money from traditional moneylenders, usually at exorbitant rates of interest, and most of their income goes towards repaying their loans.

Seva Mandir works to create opportunities for women in rural areas so that they can become financially independent by creating inter-loaning groups and encouraging the habit of saving. These inter-loaning groups called Self-Help Groups (SHGs) not only give women an easy way of saving and taking out loans whenever required, but also give them a platform to discuss socio-cultural issues in their village and families. Currently, there are 665 Self-Help Groups maintained by Seva Mandir in southern Rajasthan, India.

These SHGs also provide emergency support to women. Devali is one such SHG member. She fell ill and the doctor said she needed an operation on her uterus, but she could not afford it. She applied to her SHG and was given a loan of Rs. 16,000 ($250).

Devali says, “I am so grateful to the SHG for their support when I needed it most. The moneylender in my village charges an interest of 60% per annum whereas the SHG just charged 12%.”

This is just one of the examples of how these SHGs help women during their time of need. The loans from SHGs also help these women to invest in their children’s education, to build toilets and bathrooms in their homes, set up shops to improve their well-being, buy cattle and so on.

Helping women run well governed and self-governed- Self-Help Groups also develops solidarity, governance and management capacities among women.

Your donation is changing the lives of hundreds of women here in this part of the world. We are truly grateful for your support.

Please write to me for any feedback, queries or suggestions at atul.lekhra@sevamandir.org

Kind regards

Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir Team

Links:

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 ... 25 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.