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?Overwhelmed with the success of the Self-Help Group (SHG) scheme run in different parts of the country by women for women, the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram has decided to implement the scheme all over the country,? said Kripa Prasad Singh, joint organising secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, while talking to Organiser in New Delhi. He said the SHG scheme had proved a boon for Vanvasi and rural women. ?One SHG mainly has 30 to 50 women and every woman contributes Rs 301 in the beginning and Rs 100 or 200 per month there onwards. The amount is kept in a local bank and when the need arises, a loan of Rs 5,000 to 10,000 is given to the member woman without interest,? he said. Pointing out that the SHG was first started by Smt. Ilaben Bhatt of Ahmedabad who had organised working women like midwife, vegetable vendors, etc. of the city, she had proved that women can be successful if provided the opportunity. Smt. Ilaben has been honoured with various awards for her outstanding experiment in this field. Shri Kripa Prasad Singh pointed out that Sushri Vudhari Tanti and Madhavi Joshi of Kalyan Ashram had done a remarkable job in Bastar and in some other areas of Madhya Pradesh. ?Apart from these two women, Smt. Ranjani Karandikar has also started SHG activities in Maharashtra and some other Kalyan Ashram women activists have also done a good job by creating more than 100 SHGs in Champaran and Purnea districts of Bihar,? he added. (FOC)
