Click to play videoKhairlanji (Maharashtra): Away from big dreams and the glitz of city life, women in the heartland of Dalit atrocities are fighting an inspiring battle for survival.
Eleven beggar women in Khairlanji village in Bhandara district of Maharashtra are scripting a micro-credit success story and have set up a cooperative bank called Gopal Krishna Mini Bank.
“A woman can don any role. She can be as powerful as any Goddess. It’s just about using the gray matter,” says Secretary, Gopal Krishna Mini Bank, Komal Bai Siwankar
Having recently discovered the power of micro credit, the bank is giving the former beggars a new confidence.
“Each of us deposits Rs 20 per month. Rs 220 is the monthly installment and whenever the need arises, we also lend Rs 1,000 or Rs 2,000. Whatever we earn from interests becomes our profit,” says Treasurer of the bank, Vasiahali Siwankar.
The women use the money collected to buy and rear goats. Today, the bank gives them enough dividends to chart out an expansion plan.
“We have completed three years and now we will expand the group. The loan amount could be increased to Rs two lakh,” says Siwankar.
The journey from these roadsides to Gopal Krishna bank has been an incredible one for these women, a perfect example of how determination can transform lives.
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