About Our SHG's
01.23.09
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A Self Help Group of women earns seven times of their savings in eight years by improvement of livelihoods of thirteen members A self Help Group were formed in year 2001 at Saharranpur village of Nobautpur block of Patna district with the support of a DFID NRSP funded project, which aims at improving the livelihoods of the poor by improving the management of natural resources and project staff of then project now took the shape of an NGO, Centre for Promoting Sustainable Livelihood which keeps on supporting the groups in spite of project withdrawal in year 2003. Thirteen of its women members who were landless and socially disadvantage group started it by sitting together once in a week and saving Rs two per week per members. Every one in the villages started laughing at the women that what they can do with this small savings.
Rupees Two gets converted in more than lakh
Since there were thirteen members in the group and they were saving Rs two per week so on an average they were collecting Rs one hundred four in each month. Group started landing this small fund among its group members against the normal concept of the Self Help Groups who tend to deposit it in bank and wait for bank loan to come. Initially members borrowed less than twenty or so for the purpose of getting ration from the public distribution system, borrowing for purchase of food material, for getting treatment for sickness like fever etc. Groups fix up norms that members will give two percent interest per month of the loan. In this way Interest became another source of income for the groups besides it saving. Depending on the performance of the group CPSL which emerges from the DFID NRSP project started providing loan to the groups at an interest of 18 percent per year on reducing balance with the support of Bank and financial institutions. Groups were receiving the loan an interest of eighteen percent but decided to charge 24 % per annum on reducing balance from its members. This gave an opportunity for the groups to increase the group fund. Interestingly this income became more than it internal income in the last eight years.