Siddi women learn to save, become self-reliant

AHMEDABAD: Sharifaben Makwana, a Siddi woman, was skeptical of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) group, when she was approached by them. Bound by poverty and stuck in the tribal mindset, she and her community rejected the self-help group for a long time. "We used to break the windows of their vehicles, puncture their tyres and try to scare them away.But eventually they convinced us about savings and loans."
After initial suspicion of being duped by AKRSP, the women started secretly saving money to deposit them into saving accounts in banks. Volunteers went around collecting money at night because the men were opposed to it. The volunteers were insulted by bank officials and sometimes even physically thrown out, but the women didn't give up.
"We finally opened our savings account with AKRSP's help," said Sharifaben. She also helped women take an interest in animal husbandry as a business, using loans, which helped them generate income and run a dairy in her village in Dang. With 60 women collecting 200 litres of milk, the loan repayment rate is 100% and women have applied for a second loan for animals. "Apart from self-reliance, AKRSP taught us etiquettes, dressing, how to speak to officials and we recently did a short course on public-speaking too," says a confident Sharifaben.
Sharifaben and many other women like her gathered on Monday in Sayla, near Ahmedabad to celebrate their contribution to their community and motivate many more community leaders in newer areas.
AKRSP works on over-all development - social, economic and cultural. It started operations in India in 1985, from Gujarat, where it is currently active in 1,300 villages. Their movement has made efforts to enable women to discuss their social issues like financial exploitation, saving-investment, widow rights and domestic violence.
Apoorva Oza, CEO of AKRSP-India, said, "Women take care of agriculture, water and income when the men migrate or are absent. So a branch of our organization works towards the upliftment of women through self reliance, skills and knowledge."