Self-Help (Microfinance)
The Self-Help (Microfinance) project was established in October 2009 to help underprivileged women in Rajasthan by providing them with a means of saving money and having access to loans, thus enabling them to create small enterprises of their own and work towards financial independence. The women receive financial and business management training.
Currently, the 85% of the women in the program are Dalit. Many are widows, whose husbands died working in the stone quarries, a common but dangerous occupation in the area.
This self-help project is a leading example of the power of microfinance in India. The process of extending small loans to individual borrowers who have traditionally lacked access to credit has become one of the most popular anti-poverty strategies throughout the world and has proved effective in empowering communities as it is easy to set up and sustain.
There are 10 groups in Setrawa and 3 groups in Jodhpur.
“My husband runs a shop in the market. We thought that if we ran a shop from our home simultaneously, we would be more successful. I approached Sambhali for a loan as it was interest-free and we have four children to raise. With their help, I started the new shop and am now in business with my husband. My children go to the (Setrawa) Empowerment Center for extra English. I am very happy.”
