Micro-credit success attacks poverty, enables healthcare scheme

An emergency medical care scheme was launched on March 11 at Begur near Mysore. For Mysore-based International Human Development and Upliftment Academy, it is a success story, from one to the next.

A programme to provide micro-credit facilities to rural women, 'Ujwala Andolana', launched in six taluks of Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts in 2004 has today spread to 227 self-help groups (SHGs). Each sangha member saves a rupee a week.

The savings' drive has lead to the fund growing to Rs 34 lakh. These illiterate women have today learnt to operate bank accounts, lend money to poor women, maintain accounts, hold weekly meetings and take appropriate decisions.

The money lent by these SHGs has helped lift poor families from poverty with the loanees taking to cottage industry and other crafts. Successfully building up their own small businesses, they have repaid Rs 9 lakh towards their loans.

Not to be left behind, menfolk too have joined the drive, 36 of their SHGs taking to the programme.

Happy over the success of the initial programme, the academy has now initiated the second phase of the movement "" 'emergency medical care' "" where women will contribute an additional Re 1 per week.

The amount collected will be deposited in a bank account and utilised for free medical care of the poor women, said Dr Ajai Kumar, the brain behind the movement said.

"A study of 94,105 households and 1.54 lakh women in the six taluks revealed alarming results "" 68 per cent are illiterate, 72 per cent girls are married before 18 years of age, 72 per cent are anaemic and they work 18 hours a day."

"When they are ill, the local health centre gives them a prescription for medicines. But, because of their poor conditions, they stop medication after a dosage or two," the Mysore-based doctor said.

A key sangha member of the Ujwala Andolana, Kalpanamma of Begur village said, "the movement has given us a platform to ensure we choose a leader, who will be our representative to voice our concerns before the government."

Another member of Hirikati village Mangalamma added, "We are now capable of doing banking transactions. We know things like book-keeping. With vocational training programmes, we have other means of earning our livelihood and we don't have to depend on agriculture alone for our livelihood."

Begur's Annapoorneswari Mahila Sangha activist Lakshmi voiced her confidence: "With the launch of the new programme, we can avail prescriptions and medicines at a low cost. This will ensure better health for us."

The amount saved by these women will become the corpus money. Out of this fund, sick women will be given free prescriptions and medicines. The scheme will be expanded in due course to cover subsidised surgery, provision of ambulance and medical training for rural youth.

"Initially, it will cover 50 villages and we want to expanded to 150 villages," Dr Ajai, who heads one of the 76 credibility organisations from among the 10 million NGOs in the country, added.