WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Reaching all parts of rural and backward areas!
FORMATION & FUNDING OF SHGs
International Human Development & Upliftment Academy has so far formed 251 SHGs . There are 198 women SHGs and 53 Men SHGs. Each SHG has 12 to 20 members and each save Rs.10/- per week. The total savings of these groups as on July 2006 is over Rs. lakhs.
After 3 months of starting these SHGs, loans are taken from their own savings not exceeding Rs.500/- per member, which should be repaid within 10 monthly equal installments with 2% per month interest. The loans initially taken is usually for education, consumption, health, house repair, repaying of old loans (where they were paying 10% per month from local money lenders). Apart from this, loans are taken for purchase of seeds, fertilizers, small business (Petty shop, saree business, petty hotels) pump set repair, sheep etc.
International Human Development & Upliftment Academy has given loans to 98 SHGs worth Rs.21lakhs as on august 2006. All the 98 SHGs have completed repaying the loans within the stipulated period and the loans are repaid as scheduled. These SHGs are not only a platform for economic development, but are also used for creating awareness on health issues, importance of education, taking up Government programs like Nirmala Grameena Yojana, Kitchen Garden, Sarala Ole, taking up new income generation programs,training on different vocations, etc.
The biggest achievement of this program has been that SHG members have stopped taking loans from local money lenders, who used to charge high rate of interest (5 – 10% per month). The SHGs which are more than 2 years old have moved from taking loans for consumption to income generating activities and have developed a lot of confidence among themselves. However, the new SHGs which have been formed are still taking loans for consumption.
Annual Day Celebration: Annual day was celebrated in almost all the SHG’s in their respective villages. All the SHGs in their respective villages celebrated together the Annual Day & were able to share their success/achievements with each other. Cultural program and sports were also arranged in some villages. This program was not only a cultural event in the village but also the new SHG’s could learn from the success/ achievements of the old SHGs.
UJWALA MOVEMENT
UJWALA Movement that was first launched on 15th March 2004 at Gundlupet in order to intensify Women Empowerment was again celebrated on 11th March 2006 at Begur. It was a one day Program, where all the SHG members (3200 women & 700 men) from 46 villages participated in this program.
Dr. U.R. Ananthamurthy, (Gnanapeetha Awardee), Prof. C. Sarvamangala (Principal of Maharaja Evening College), Smt. B. Radha (Advocate) & Smt. Shubha Madhusudhan from Bangalore were the Chief Guest. Prof. Sarvamangala, released a Souvenir brought out on the occasion, which consisted of SHG Members experience, songs, jokes etc, written by the SHG Members. Dr. B.S. Ajai Kumar initiated Health Insurance to the SHG members.
SHG members were provided an opportunity to present their talents in the form of songs, dances, skits and also sharing their individual and group experiences. The entire program was organized and conducted by SHG members with the help of the Trust.
Training to
A. Multi Purpose Workers (MPW):
Multi Purpose Workers are volunteers selected by the community & the organisation. These MPWs work as a bridge between the community & the organisation.
These are usually Boys/Girls who are unemployed & have studied Std X. They are paid honoraria by the organisation. They help the SHGs’ to monitor & write books of SHGs’ & implement programs. These MPW’s undergo regular training & meet once a month to review & plan the work.
Almost all the villages have MPW’s. On an experimental basis 6 MPW’s were taken and thoroughly trained and were asked to supervise and carryout work in 3 – 6 villages. This experiment has been partially fruitful and some of these MPW’s have been able to do the work beyond expectation. However, they still need to be trained which we will be focusing during the next year.
Eleven selected MPWs have been trained to audit books of accounts of SHGs’ & they help the staff during audit and have been trained to audit SHGs’ independently.
The curriculum included how to conduct audit of SHGs, vouching, Reconciliation of bank statement, verifying passbook and savings, preparation of Income & expenditure account and balance sheet, etc. However, they need to be fine-tuned.
Vocational Education
In order to provide alternative employment, various vocational training programs were taken up. The following are some of the Programs:
A. TAILORING :
In order to provide employment for School dropout girls, a tailoring program has been initiated and 10 batches of 20 girls have completed this training program. The course is for a period of 5 months. 40% of the girls trained have purchased tailoring machine on their own through SHGs or on their own and have started stitching clothes of the villagers in their house. On an average, they are earning around Rs.200/- to Rs.800/- per month depending on the season and the month.
A Tailoring / Production unit has been initiated during July 2005 in Begur, and 6 girls have been stitching Nighties, School Uniforms, Petticoats, Aprons, Kurtas, etc. They have also been stitching nurses uniform, curtains, bed sheets, pillow covers, surgery dresses of Bharath Hospital & Institute of Oncology, Mysore.
B. Specialised Training in Tailoring, Embroidery & Mould Making:
5 girls, who were working in the Tailoring production unit, were sent for 10 days specialised training program to Mysore during the last week of March 2006. They specialised in learning nurse’s uniform, hand embroidery, machine embroidery and mould making
C. Candle Making:
A two days training program in March 2005 was organized on specialised candle making including packing. Mrs. Bhagya Ajai Kumar trained 5 girls in this program. The trainees were trained in making different types & varieties including semi transparent & floating candles.
D. Pickle Making:
Eight women who had undergone training in CFTRI, Mysore, on Pickle Making started production in C.V Pura, from September 2005. They are at present making Lime, Mango, Garlic and mixed vegetable Pickles. They have sold Kgs of pickles.
E. Papad Making:
Six women of SHG’s have been trained and are now making Rice, Black gram and Horse Gram Papads. This production unit was started in June 2005 and IHDUA has helped in marketing over 25,000 Papads.
All the above vocational training had been planned so that supplementary employment is provided to women. IHDUA plans to initiate other vocational trainings during the coming years in the Project area. IHDUA will help in marketing by opening outlets in Mysore, thus providing employment to women.
F. TRAINING IN AGARBATHI MAKING :
This program was initiated in 2 villages covering 26 beneficiaries. This training was for a period of one month. During the training program, the women were able to make around 100,000 sticks. After the training program, these women were given raw materials and the Trust will make arrangements to sell the same under the UJWALA brand. This program will provide employment to women when there is no agricultural work (usually 6-8 months in a year) and the family can earn a nominal amount. This program will be expanded to other villages of the program area and our target is to give employment to at least 1000 women in the next 5 years.
G. SMALL SCALE INDUSTRY :
Dr.V.Prakash, Director of CFTRI, Mysore visited our program area and had discussions with 147 women of 22 SHG s regarding feasibility of starting and selecting some cottage industries in Project area. It was decided to see the feasibility of starting :
- Tamarind brick block, tamarind concentrate and tamarind powder as tamarind was available in plenty in the program area.
- To make mango bar, mango pickle with magadi beru
- To make groundnut chikkies
- Papads
As a first step in this regard, CFTRI arranged a training and exposure to 10 SHG members on the above for 2 days in Mysore. The beneficiaries underwent training in CFTRI & we are in the process of starting a Food Processing Plant with the help of CFTRI, Mysore.
H. OTHERS :
We are in the process of identifying members of SHG s who can make papad, pickle, incense stick and also students who have completed training in tailoring and take these activities in a co-operative system. Discussion is being held with District Industries Centre, Chamarajanagar to rent out their building in Begur, which can be used to take up the above activities. The entire marketing will be taken up by the Trust under the brand of ‘UJWALA’.
By taking up the above activities, we plan to provide employment to at least 100-150 members during the next financial year.
CONCLUSION
During 1993 – 2000 the focus of the Trust was on Rural Education. However, from 2000 onwards the main focus has been on ‘Women Empowerment’ & “Economic Empowerment among women”. Thus the organisation has initiated & promoted more women groups and a lot of vocational training has been taken up during the reporting period, so that regular employment and income is assured.
As planned in the previous year tailoring, pickle making, papad making and candle making Production Units have been initiated and production and sales have started. The members of the women group are becoming relatively confident. However, we have a long way to go.
During the next financial year, emphasis will be on initiating more SHGs, provide training on different vocational skills and starting more Production units, as small scale industry & help in marketing the products. This will help them get regular/ supplementary employment, thus improving the economic status of the rural families.
Glossary :
GIVE: Giving Impetus to Voluntary Effort
CAPART: Council for Advancement for People’s action and Rural Technology
