SEVAI SELF HELP GROUPS
Development is not providing but promoting women
Empowering women process
Women are a vital
part of Indian economy and major contributors to the survival of the family. The
poorer the family, the greater is independence on women’s income.
Mrs.Shantha Sheela
Nair,IAS visits SEVAI SHGs.
SHG as comprehensive
tool for Rural Development
Poverty is not just material deprivation but a continuous process of
“Disempowerment” that includes denial of choices/rights/opportunities,
discrimination, disparity, domination, displacement, de-humanization etc.
Alleviating poverty does not end with meeting individuals’/people’s material
needs.
Formation of Self Help groups
SEVAI Promotes women as Self Help Groups as small groups of people facing
similar problems. The members of the group help each other to solve their
problems. A functionally literate trained to lead in mobilizing the women to
form a group, is called animator, helps the group members develop the habit of
thrift and promote small savings among them. The ideal size of SHG is 12-18
members. A smaller size is preferred because in a big group members cannot
participate actively. The group may or may not be registered. Only one person
from one family can
Major Functions of a SHG
Savings and thrift, internal lending, Keeping proper accounts of
transactions, and discussing problems. After a satisfactory performance of SHG
and sufficient balance in the common account, the SHG can approach any bank of
its convenience for availing loan.
Details of
financial transactions
The bank manager / field officer assesses the performance of SHG based on
guidelines issued by NABARD and if found fulfilling the criteria, the SHG is
sanctioned with credit facility. The credit is given to the group at
substantially lesser interest rate. A repayment schedule is drawn up with the
SHG and the loan is to be repaid regularly in small and frequent installments.
The loan is the
collective responsibility of the members.
The experience of
SEVAI is that repayments from SHGs are far better than individual accounts.
Self Help Groups
movement was promoted by SEVAI as an empowermentbody. Women are a vital part
of Indian economy and major contributors to the survival of the family. The
poorer the family, the greater is independence on women’s income.
SEVAI - SELF HELP GROUPS – TRICHY
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Formed 6073 Women
Self Help Groups(WSHGs) and 331 Youth Self Help Groups (YSHGs) covering
105038 members;
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All the 5204 SHGs
has been trained on basic self help group training for 4 days;
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5173 SHGs
imparted with Animators and Representative Training for a duration of 7
days;
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Entrepreneurship
Development Programme (EDP)Training has been imparted to 5600 members for a
duration of 7 days;
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Need based Skills
Training has imparted to 2700 members which varies from one month to three
months duration;
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Formed 198
Panchayat Level Federations (PLF) in which 37 PLF has registered.
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There exists six
Block Level Federation (BLF).
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22 Ward Level
Federation (WLF) in Tiruchirapalli urban area.
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All the groups
have a savings of Rs. 54 crores;
LOAN LINKAGES
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4010 SHGs linked
with Revolving Fund of Rs.60000/- each group; in this each group receives a
subsidy of Rs.10000/- and they have to repay Rs.50000/- as loan;
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4714 SHGs
supported under Direct Linkage loan of Rs.150000/- per SHG;
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614 SHGs
supported under Economic Activity valuing Rs.500000/- per SHG with
Rs.125000/- as subsidy and remaining Rs.375000/- they repay;
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326 SHGs linked
under Differential Rate of Interest loan with Rs.20000/- loan for each
member in an SHG;
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360 SHGs linked
under TAHDCO Revolving fund with Rs.60000/- loan in which Rs.10000/- is
subsidy;
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24 SHGs supported
with milch animal rearing programme wherein each member supported with
Rs.32000/- in which Rs.16000/- is subsidy and the remaining Rs.16000/- to
repay.;
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One PLF supported
with 50 lakhs and two PLF with – 40 lakhs loan ;
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Seven PLF
received Supporting cost Rs.1lakh from Government.
AWARDS:
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Allur PLF –
received best PLF, “ Manimegalai Award” with Cash of Rs.50000/- for year
2009 – 10;
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During 2009-10 -
in seven blocks 21 prizes won by the SHGs during “Samathuva Pongal Sports
Activities” organized by Government in which 7 first prizes valuing –
Rs.500/-; seven second prizes valuing – Rs.300/- and seven third prizes
valuing – Rs.200/- won by the SHG members at Block Level; At District level
our self help groups has won 4 first prizes with cash award of – Rs.5000/-
each ; 2 second prizes – Rs.3000/- each and 2 third prizes – Rs.2000/- each
has been won;
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Lalgudi –
“Tamilchozhai SHG “ received Best SHG “Manimegalai Award” with cash award
Rs.10000/- for year 2007-08 ; Lalgudi – “Malligai SHG “ received Best SHG,
“Maimegalai Award” with cash award of Rs.10000/- for 2006 -07; Andhanallur –
“Shenbaghapoo SHG “ received best SHG, “Manimegalai Award” with cash award
Rs.10000/- for the year 2006 -07.
While there is
still a long way to go, these have resulted in:
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Increased
participation of women indecision making process.
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An increasing
focus of poverty alleviation programmes on women. Its issue for human
development is reflected in its objectives to
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Extend micro
credit to women to alleviate poverty,
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Protect very
poor from exploitation of money lenders;
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Generate
employment for the unemployed and underemployed,
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Assist poor
people to develop social and economic strength through minimal support
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Break the
cycle of poverty, which has been the fate of families for generations.
Self Help
Groups Concept:
Self Help Groups
promotion as a development approach tries to build up on the existing
self-help potential of the rural poor and assist them as producers in the
identifications of occupations and activities with in provide a higher net
return on invested labour and capital. Until now this potential of the rural
poor of helping themselves has been capacity of the rural poor to help them.
Self Help Groups acts for its self-help group (SHG) members as the Self Help
Groups is seen as crucial to the empowerment process as self help group
members draw strength from numbers as it creates.
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Confidence
and mutual support for poor especially women striving for social change.
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A forum in
which poor can critically analyze their situations and devise collective
strategies to overcome their difficulties.
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A framework
for awareness raising, confidence building, for the dissemination for
information and delivery of services, and for developing communal
self-reliance and collective action.
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A vehicle for
the promotion of economic activities.
Self Help Group (SHG) is a group of 12 to 20 women of the same
socio-economic background who come forward voluntarily to work together for
their own up liftmen. The unique feature of the SHG is its ability to
inculcate among its members sound habits of thrift, savings and banking
Regular savings,
periodic meetings, compulsory attendance, and systematic training are the
salient features of the SHG concept. Each group selects one animator and two
representatives from among themselves. The animator is responsible for
providing leadership to the group and to maintain the various registers. The
representatives assist the animator and maintain the bank accounts of the
group.
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They are
trained to become cohesive as a group through regular meetings and
encouraged to cultivate savings habit.
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Capacity
Building Programmes such as SHG and A & R training are imparted to the
Group members and within a period of six months.
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After a
period of 6 months, SHGs are rated for Credit Linkage by a Committee
consisting of Bankers, APOs, NGOs, Block level officer and PLF
Representative.
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For the
eligible Credit rated SHGS, credit facilities are largely made available
through Banks, both for revolving fund and economic activity.
Characteristics of Self Help Groups:
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Ownership of
Self Help Groups remains with the self – help group members. The group
exists because the members see value in it in helping them to solve
their problems through their collective efforts.
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Affinity as
the base for coming together. A sustainable, cohesive group needs a
common underlying bond on which trust can be built. Thus, the basis of
self-help group exists prior to any external intervention as the members
are linked by a common bond, like caste, blood, community. Place of
origin, etc., Self Help Groups takes care to identify these natural
groupings or affinity groups. It is therefore, essential that the groups
be formed naturally and by the will of the women themselves.
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Mutual help
as the foundation of the group’s existence. The rationale for the
existence of the group is mutual help and progress towards self-reliance
and not the passive receipt of benefits.
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Self Help
Groups provide a forum for collective learning which rural women find
more “ friendly “ and which is consequently more effective than the
individual approach that is commonly adopted.
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Self Help
Groups promotes a democratic culture and self help group members with
opportunities to imbibe norms of behaviour that are based on mutual
respect.
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Self Help
Groups fosters an “entrepreneurial” culture where each member realizes
that while she needs the support in adequate measure.
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Self Help
Groups also provides a cost effective credit delivery system as the
transactions costs of lending decrease sharply both to the banks and the
borrowers.
Description:
Self Help Groups provides approaches the Government and Banks to for
credit to women groups who live below the poverty line. An important
characteristic of l, that it uses a group based approach in which borrowers
are responsible for the loans of the each member of the group.
SHG Grandma happy for young
for empowerment
Self help group
members use their earnings for the family in terms of feeding the family
members, shelter up gradation, nutrition, education which all add to health,
welfare and development. Through the women’s project, Self Help Groups are
in the process of empowering women and raising their status in their
families as well as in the wider communities. The women are empowered
through this self-help approach. Community participation is entailed in all
the villages by organizing Women Self Help Groups. In SEVAI target villages
Savings and Credit scheme has been initiated and the people are organized as
working groups. The Savings and Credit scheme has been administered by the
women self help group with seed amount as revolving fund. Through this rural
credit and thrift scheme the members of rural communities are able to get
loans are a reasonable service charges and the people are also enabled to
invest these loans in appropriate income generating programmes. The Self
Help Groups scheme has been promoted in target villages of SEVAI accounts to
6000 such groups functioning in the village level having a membership of
around 100000 women in total.
Working Procedure:
A. Working procedures for the Self Help Groups:
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Development
of strong, cohesive self-help women’s groups.
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Improved
access to various Governmental development schemes and bank welfare
schemes.
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Development
of leadership qualities.
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Social
awareness.
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Improved
status of the women in the family and society.
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Self-confidence.
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Improvement
in health and family welfare.
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Literacy.
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Awareness of
legal rights and legal aid access.
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Economic
development – consisting of:
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Inculcating
habit of savings.
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Doubling of
income.
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Control of
income and better income management.
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Increase of
assets.
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Change from
worker status to worker – manager status.
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Access to
market, choice of activities.
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Continued
access to the regular credit delivery / alternate credit delivery
system.
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Getting out
of moneylenders clutches.
Adolescent’s
Education-preparatory phase
METHODOLOGY :
It must be understood that the project is a process for development. It
is essential to follow the process without skipping steps or jumping levels
or putting the cart before the horse.
Developing Need Based Programme.
Awareness Building.
Since economic activity of any kind involves close interaction of the
women group with environment, awareness building and motivation at all
levels is necessary. For creating awareness, various activities like
meetings, workshops, group discussions, personal visits have been taken up
with kindling interest and in a participatory way.
Identification
and Selection of Potential Women.
After generating interest amongst women and sensitizing the environment,
a systematic selection procedure has been adopted for choosing potential
self-help women groups. The criteria for selection have been.
- To assess commitment, interest and involvement of women towards self
employment/micro-credit.
- To determine potential entrepreneurial / business competencies exiting in
women.
Enterprise Management and Technical Training:
Promotion of skill development and financial support alone will not
promote self- employment. A much more fundamental and pressing need is to
develop the spirit and capabilities of the women and this has been done
through a short –term training programme that included technical training as
well.
Capacity Building Trainings
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Micro
Enterprise and Marketing Strategies
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Best
practices in Micro Finance
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Basic
Computer Training
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Communication
Training
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Book Keeping
and Accountancy
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Finance
Management
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Donor /NGO
Interaction
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Gender &
Health
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Gender
sensitization
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Project
Proposal writing
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Logical
Framework Analysis (LFA
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Livelihood
workshops
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Report
Writing & Documentation
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Organizational Ethics
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Superintendents Training-Social Welfare Department
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SWADHAR
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Workshop on
Fund Raising
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Government
Policy & Budget Analysis with regard to Social Welfare, Health &
Education Funded by World Bank Small Grants Program
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Tally
–(Accounts software) Training
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Volunteer
promotion
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Wasteland
Development Workshop
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Volunteer
promotion
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Brain
storming workshop on Social Work Curriculum
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Orientation
Training on HIV/AIDS awareness
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Disaster
Preparedness
SEVAI SHG TEAM
SYSTEMATIC WORK YEILDS
