Women Self Help Groups play vital role in promoting self employments in rural areas.

The social workers of SEVAI Trained by T.Vanitha,SHG Coordinator

“Women Self Help Groups play vital role in promoting self employments in rural areas” viewed by Mrs.P.Vanitha, the women SHG Coordinator of SEVAI while addressing the social workers of SEVAI involved in promoting SHG projects in SEVAI, a Trichy based NGO. The Social workers team is now currently involved in promoting SHGs in Dry land belt area of Thottiyapatty watershed area under SG/OFI-SEVAI. Mrs.P.Vanitha added,” Village Development through strengthening Women Self Help Groups are the key areas of intervention to change the face of socioeconomic scenario. Micro enterprises and SHGs are playing significant role in the self-employment by raising the level of income and standard of living rural people. One of the

T.Vanitha,SHG Coordinator enlightens Social workers

most vital aspects of rural self employment is the formation of SHGs which is a valuable investment in human capital through training and capacity building measures.  Dairy farming, weaving, poultry, food processing units, mushroom cultivation are some of the enterprises promoted by women self help groups. The group members use collective wisdom and peer pressure to ensure appropriate use of fund and its timely repayment. These are groups where members come together towards collective action for common cause. The common need is meeting their emergent economic needs without depending on external help. SHG movement is supposed to build economic self reliance of rural poor, overcome misuse and create confidence predominantly among women who are mostly unseen in the social structure. Self employment has been recognized as an essential force of development in rural areas. It has emerged as a strategy designed to improve the socioeconomic life and mainly focuses on extending the benefits of development to the poorest in the rural areas improving their standard of living and self-realization. SHGs are integrating the low income segments with rest of the rural community by ensuring them a better participation in a more equitable share in the benefit of developments. These Groups are not only speeding up economic growth, but also providing jobs and improving the quality of rural life towards self-reliance. Self-employment needs a very wide ranging and comprehensive set of activities, relevant to all aspects of rural economy and covering rural people including skilled, unskilled and landless labours and artisans. Even though the Rural Indians put their entrepreneurial skills in all the rural development activities their economic status has not improved to the expected level. Although they have much potential; they are ignorant of converting their skills into reality. Though there is variety of programmes to alleviate poverty and empower rural people, SHGs have done well. 

Trained Thottiyapatty SHGs involved in agro based micro enterprises.

The emergence of small enterprises and its activities have made a considerable contribution in the socio-economic development of rural poor in the society. The impact on the lives of rural people is not just an economic one; gaining more self-confidence is often a more lasting achievement that forms the basis for social and economic improvements. It is very important and vital to address these issues and for this an integrated approach of Government, Banks and NGOs is crucial. The institutional efficiency needs to be increased. Speeding up the delivery process is also very important. Easy access to credit, flexibility in the repayment schedule, conceptualization of new schemes for the poor should be considered. Role of NGOs, too, is equally important as they serve as the most important element to create awareness among the rural poor. They should give wide publicity to rural banking and its linkage programmes at local level and must enable the women to participate in the decision making process at the bottom level. These measures can significantly make the Self Help Groups effective and efficient in order to boost the rural economy”. -Govin