Capacities building training programmes have been conducted at the community level by project staff, facilitated by external resource persons when required. 88 community training programmes covering 15,130 beneficiaries were organized during the year 2005 to 2012. These include training in Education, Health, Leadership, Accounts, Documentation, Livelihoods activities, SHGs, Village mapping and planning, etc. International women’s day was celebrated with rallies and speeches in the project areas with the participation of over 2000 women. Health camps, Veterinary camps, science fairs, Children melas (fairs), were also held periodically.
Training the women’s groups towards self-reliance is an integral part of the project activity. Women SHGs have been trained in the concepts of credit management, loans and recovery, leadership, management, linkages to credit, enterprise development, credit ratings and liaison, importance of record maintenance, group auditing, federation activities, rights of women and children, and on the importance of personal hygiene and sanitation. At present these women’s groups have become fully independent in their day-to-day functioning and have an excellent record for repayment of debts. Many groups have also passed the credit ratings of nationalized banks and have even procured additional group loans from these Banks for their economic development.
The training support that women have received the virtue of being part of SHGs has helped them to become more aware of their rights, economic processes that can work in their favor and general awareness on community development. This has enabled them to become more self-sufficient by taking up income generation activities and has inculcated in them a habit of saving. As a result, a part of the family income is in their hands with which they can concentrate on the welfare of the entire family, be it for health care, education, saving for the future, etc. It is not uncommon knowledge that when the woman in a family has a stake in the income and savings of the family, the larger benefit of all members can be realized more effectively.