Anita’s Story
“My husband and I could barely feed our children,” says Anita from Sardarpur
village,“but he did not allow me to work or even leave our home.”
Anita heard about a women’s self-help group program, sponsored by IDRF
and donors like you. Self-help groups save and lend collectively, start
businesses, and learn about everything from bookkeeping to reproductive
health. “I joined [a] group without my husband’s knowledge. Slowly I started
saving money... I went to the meetings...he only found out when I took my
first loan, to help him set up a barber’s kiosk!” As his kiosk prospered, he
became supportive.
Anita also used loans from her group to set up a dairy. “We have a good
income. Our children are all going to school. Our eldest is in a good private
school!” She even found a job as a maternal health worker, because “I
learned a lot about health in our self-help group meetings.”
She was once a prisoner in her own home, but now: “I am confident. I have
respect and status in my village. People recognize me and listen to me – all
because of my group’s support and all I learned as a member … in each
meeting over 7 years!”
This program began in 2004 with simple family planning in 10 villages. But
thanks to our strategic expansion and your donations, we’ve been able to
empower thousands of women like Anita!
I AM
CONFIDENT
i have
RESPECT
and
STATUS
IN MY VILLAGE
Highlights, FY 2013
100
9,900
2,300
villages
women
businesses
$1.4 million
women’s savings
7