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| Promotion
of Credit Unions: Asansol Diocese leads the way |
Asansol
Burdwan Seva Kendra
Region: West Bengal, Diocese: Asansol
Target Group Covered – 5322 |
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| In April, 2003 Caritas
India along with its diocesan partner of Asansol in West Bengal
started a three year project for the tribal population of the
area. Tribals were chosen as the project’s main target
groups as 80 percent of the people in the villages live below
the poverty line, being daily laborers and earning a nominal
amount. They have to take loans from moneylenders. Most of the
villagers were also illiterate as few studied till primary and
high schools |
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| Goals &
Objectives: |
| What
difference has the project made: |
| Many
women have become economically independent with the support
of SHGs. More and more of them are leaving their inhibitions
and have come together to work for a common goal. Villages
are seeing more unity as a result. This has also increased
their confidence and self-dignity. All the women in SHG
have learnt to read and write. Income generation activities
initiated through micro credit have motivated them to
borrow bigger loan from the bank for collective entrepreneurship
programmes. This has helped increasing their family income.
SHG’s in village Amirbandh had taken a pond on lease
and have started Pisciculture as an income generation
activity with the loan availed from bank. Two groups of
the Dak Bangla have jointly purchased 48 decimals of land
and have started joint cultivation. The groups had earlier
taken the plot of land on lease thrice in succession and
have made good profit. Chetana Mahila Group of village
Gordanmari Purbopara had received the work of cooking
the mid day meal for the children attending the Anganwadi
under the ICDS scheme. Naturally the women give more importance
to their children and family welfare. Thus the percentage
of children attending schools especially the girls have
increased tremendously. Women have started being a part
of the decision making process. |
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| Implementation |
| In the past three-years,
through the number of animation, motivation and training sessions
conducted in the villages and at our centers, the men &
women both have been brought to learn of the benefits of forming
groups and the strength unity has. 38 groups have been formed
and they save regularly.
Union: Groups falling under each of the three Blocks
of Bhatar, Nanoor and Katwa have been grafted into seven cluster
viz.
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Emergence
of Leadership:
40% of the target SHGs have collectively attended the
Gram Sansad meeting and have put forward their grievances
relating to up-grading the present village roads, Electrification
of the village, street lamps and a primary school. Some
of their application have been passed and their requests
are beginning to be implemented like repair of village
approach road to villages like Norja & Nobosta, repair
of Aanganwadies in villages Amirbandh, Singhi & Charghara,
Setting of tube wells in the four paras of village Gordanmari,
Electrification of village Nobosta, Dak Bangla, Srikhand,
Digghipara, Gunguldanga & Dogachia. |
| Promotion
of Credit Unions |
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| Awareness in
the villages: |
| Village
meetings were held twice by the project animator in every
village while the villages have conducted meetings by
themselves, at least once a month. In the meetings, conducted
by ABSK, issues relating to the present village situation
and further upgradation of households, health hygiene,
Schooling for children, Income generating activities,
Saving, Bank accounts, herbal medicine, Social evils,
land & family disputes had been discussed.% of the
children of school going age attend regular classes at
the local government primary high school. School going
children of higher classes (6-10) attend Tuition classes
being conducted for them during the evenings at Dak Bangla
(Katwa) and Gordanmari, (Burdwan) Community center. These
centers are presently catering to around 100 school going
tribal children. |
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Ekata
& Sechaton SHG |
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The groups under the Halan Samtao cluster (Urbashi Mahila
Samity, Kurupa Mahila Dal, Pradhatar Tara Mahila Dal, Join
Marshal Mahila Dal, Milon Sangha SHG, Pujarani Mahila Dal
& Uttaya Mahil Dal) formed under the Nanoor Block in the
Birbhum dist. have been aware of the 100 days of work under
the Government ‘National Employment Guarantee scheme’.
The members and other of the villages have made a list of
name of the many individuals and have deposited the same in
the Panchayat Office. |
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| Enhanced Participation |
| Children below the
age of Five years have been taken to the local health center
for being administered Pulse Polio drops and other immunization
drugs and other immunization drugs. Majority of the households
in the villages falling under the Katwa, Gordanmari, Norja &
Nobosta areas have constructed hygienic toilets in their courtyards,
under a Government scheme, promoting Health & Hygiene for
a cleaner and germ free environment. |
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| Other IMPACT |
| AS a result of the
project initiated in the target villages, the impact seen are.
The target people are more conscious about education of their
children and send them to school regularly.
The people are more health conscious and they take necessary
measures to curb illness by availing qualified doctors assistance,
immunize their children, keep surroundings clean and have
begun construction hygienic toilets for their households.
The target community has realized the need for village development
as many of the households have received BPL cards, Ration
Cards, children – Birth Certificates and names of individuals
enrolled on to the electoral list. Through community movement,
many a long-standing issues like proper approach roads, ‘Angawadies’,
Mid Day meal for children and functioning of the health center
in the village.
The target population are now aware of attending village
SHG meetings, attending Panchayat programmes and the Gram
Sansad.
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| Constraints & difficulties |
| In relation to village
development, the groups formed in the target villages have vowed
to attend the Gram Sansad meet in their areas, but were unable
to do so as the |
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meeting
was carried out without the knowledge of the people. In
relation to acquiring of ratio cards and BPL cards, about
45% of the villagers of our target villages have still
not received the same. The causes of delay being that
the families do not have their names on the electoral
list of Government. |
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| SUSTAINABILITY |
Majority of the groups
have initiated loan transaction among the group members. So
far more then 250 members have taken loan for income generation
activities and other purposes. Some of the SHGs are also involved
in group activities. They work together in a group and share
the profit among themselves.
All the groups have learnt to maintain their books and records
by themselves.
A few groups have availed bank loan of Rs.25, 000/- to Rs.40,
000/- each under SGSY scheme. Efforts are being made to link
all the SHGs with Bank Finance. |
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| SUCCESS
STORY |
| Smt.
Moni Mardi is a member of Chetna SHG in Gordanmari Village
of Asansol, West Bengal. This group was constituted 15
months back with 11 members and by now they could save
around Rs. 10,000/-. The group then initiated inter-loaning
among members. Recently with the support of the local
panchayat’s recommendation the group obtained 40,000/-
as bank loan. This amount was divided among the group
as per their requirement. Moni used to live in a mud house,
which needed constant repairing after every monsoon. She
could take Rs. 7000/- as loan from her own group and got
her house repaired. She is the happiest woman in this
village. Others like her have used the amount for livestock
rearing and agriculture in the next phase the group is
planning to buy a agricultural land and cultivate jointly
to further enhance their group savings. |
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