Empowering women

Last year, a group of 15 women got together and formed the Vishwakarma self-help group at Kesarpura village in Ajmer district in Rajasthan. These women were driven to form the self-help group because they were all part of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) programme. It is a job guarantee scheme, providing employment for 100 days every financial year to adults of rural households at Rs 120 per day. The Union government outlay for the scheme was Rs 40,000 crore in FY2010-11.
Caritas India, the human development arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, inspired the village women to form a group to get the best deal from NREGA. At present, the women have monthly savings of about Rs 100 and the total savings exceed Rs 20,000 in a cooperative bank at Mavashiya Panchayat in Ajmer. All the members availed the loan facility and none was a defaulter. The loan was taken mainly to take care of their livestock and crops. The Vishwakarma self-help group has indeed brought a ray of hope into the lives of these hard-working women.
Caritas India, which has touched the lives of millions of the poor, the marginalised and voiceless through its numerous branches and networks throughout the length and breadth of India, is celebrating its golden jubilee this year. Sister Ajitha, who works with marginalised women in Uttar Pradesh, says the NGO is indeed bringing about a silent revolution in the country through its women empowerment schemes. Father Varghese Mattamana, executive director of Caritas India, says as many as 14 million people have benefitted from its services last year and 85 per cent of them were women. According to him, the self-help literacy groups have become popular and outstandingly effective. Today, in many states, women occupy more and more of the seats on self-governing councils. Caritas in Latin means love. Caritas India is truly engaged in loving kindness.