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March was an exciting month for us at UMED. Several initiatives such as women entrepreneurs’ gathering, health camps and other celebrations were held to mark International Women’s Day. The latest edition of SAMVAD also features our community cadre – Bank Sakhis and Pashu Sakhis. Read their stories here!

Umed-MSRLM, in association with MAVIM and DWCD, organised a programme at Y.B. Chavan Centre, Mumbai to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8th March 2016. Shri. Sudhir Mungantiwar, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister for Finance, Planning and Forests, Maharashtra, Smt. Pankaja Munde, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister for Rural Development and Water Conservation, Employment Guarantee Scheme and Women and Child Development, Maharashtra, Smt. Vidya Thakur, Hon’ble MoS for Women and Child Development, Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Food and Drugs Administration, Maharashtra, Shri Deepak Kesarkar, Hon’ble MoS for Rural Development, Finance and Planning, Maharashtra, Shri V. Giriraj, Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, Maharashtra, Shri. Sanjay Kumar, Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development and Minorities Development Department, Maharashtra, Smt. Vinita Ved Singhal, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) Commissioner and Mr. R. Narottam Reddy, COO, SBI Foundation graced the event with their presence. CEO, Umed, welcomed the guests and spoke about the history and significance of International Women’s Day. Hundreds of women from Umed and MAVIM SHGs participated in the programme and shared their experiences with the audience. Best Performing CMRCs (of MAVIM) were recognised and awarded at the ceremony. The Honourable Ministers also felicitated the best performing SHGs under Umed’s ‘Toilet Pinkathon’ programme.

Smt. Pankaja Munde, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister for Rural Development and Water Conservation, Employment Guarantee Scheme and Women and Child Development, Maharashtra stressed on the importance of the entire community coming together to achieve women’s rights, and introduced the rural women to the ‘Majhi Kanya Bhagyashree’ scheme.

S A M V A D e- bulletin, March 2016

“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.”

- Melinda Gates

Celebrating Womanhood : International Women’s Day 2016

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Shri Deepak Kesarkar, Hon’ble MoS for Rural Development, Finance and Planning, Maharashtra, appreciated the work done by Wardhinis, our community cadre. Smt. Vidya Thakur, Hon’ble MoS for Women and Child Development, Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Food and Drugs Administration, Maharashtra, encouraged the women and spoke about the Government’s initiatives such as ICDS. DWCD’s publication on ICDS, ‘Aakar’ was released at the event. The event also saw the launch of two films produced by Umed – ‘Community Mobilisation by women for women!’ and ‘Empowering PRI through empowering Women’. MD, MAVIM, Mrs. Kusum Balsaraf gave the vote of thanks.

Shri. Sudhir Mungantiwar, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister for Finance, Planning and Forests, Maharashtra, hailed the spirit of the women and spoke about various women-friendly schemes and policies initiated by the Government.

The Silver Bullet : Our Bank Sakhis

Under NRLM, the financial inclusion strategy is geared towards making the poor the preferred clients of the banking system. However, with the exponential growth of SHGs, rural bank branches are often unable to meet their demands due to the problem of understaffing. In order to bridge this gap between the community and the banks, Umed has promoted the concept of ‘Bank Sakhi’. A dedicated community cadre, Bank Sakhis ensure improved access to banking operations for SHG members. Educated women from the SHGs are identified and trained as Bank Sakhis in basic banking procedures. Positioned at the local banks, they act as facilitators between the rural clientele and the respective bank branch. Umed-MSRLM has deployed 102 Bank Sakhis in 16 blocks of 6 districts in Maharashtra (see table below).

Meet Our Bank Sakhi Smt. Rajashri Nilesh Mhaiskar is working as a Bank Sakhi in Seloo block of Wardha. As a Bank Sakhi, she is associated with the Sukali branch of Bank of India and Yelakeli branch of Allahabad bank. She has opened bank accounts for 76 SHGs and individual accounts for more than 100 women. More than 200 women are now covered under insurance due to her hard work. Rajashri tai is also an enthusiastic participant in the Bank Melavas.

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Sr.

No.

District No. of Existing

Bank Sakhis

1 Yawatmal 26

2 Wardha 33

3 Jalna 21

4 Nandurbar 8

5 Gadchiroli 8

6 Gondia 3

7 Palghar/ Thane 3

Total 102

As a part of the International Women’s Day celebrations, a health camp was organized for adolescent girls in Sanjha village of Osmanabad block on 9th March 2016. Sandhya Suryavanshi, the Abhaya (Gender CRP)

for the village and Mayuri Jakate, the CRP took the initiative to organize this camp and roped in the Zilla Parishad school and Primary Health Sub-Centre to ensure its success. The Gram Sevak - Shri. B.V. Shinde, Deputy Sarpanch - Shri. Sanjay Suryavanshi, Nurse - P.G. Patil, Aarogya Sevak - Shri Pathan, ASHA worker – Smt. Jyoti Dole and Extension Officer – S.M. Chapalvar attended the camp along with the UMED staff.

99 girls, aged between 10-19 years participated in the camp and got their weight and haemoglobin levels checked.

On A New Page : Libraries Launched In Osmanabad

With the intention of promoting information and knowledge exchange, and inculcating a habit of reading among adolescent girls’ groups in Osmanabad district, 12 libraries have been set up in 12 villages here. Six villages have been selected from both Osmanabad and Tuljapur blocks for this initiative. A set of 76 books has been given to the Abhayas (Gender CRPs) in these villages to share with the adolescent girls. These books cover a diverse range of subjects, including art and crafts, zoology, fiction, history and biographies.

On 22nd March 2016, the books were exhibited at the office of the District Mission Management Unit, Osmanabad. Leaders of 29 adolescent girls’ groups attended the ceremony where the books were distributed by PD,DRDA, Mrs. Rupali Satpute.

A Visit To The Doctor’s : Health Camp In Osmanabad

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Field Notes : Our Pashu Sakhis At Work

A household name in Pandewahi village of

Etapalli block, Gadchiroli, Smt. Sarita Manoj

Gawde has established her identity as a Pashu

Sakhi in her village. Her work has inspired

many families in the village to invest in

livestock. At present, Sarita tai is working with

79 families and rearing 600 goats.

A ‘Women Entrepreneurs Gathering’ was organized in Wardha on 19th March 2016 to encourage women entrepreneurs and promote small enterprises. Shri Pramod Pawar, PD, DRDA, Shri Vijay Jangada, Lead Bank Manager, Dr. Snehal Bansod, NABARD representative and Smt. Sindhutai Shriram, President, Savitribai Cluster Level Federation graced the event with their presence.

Guiding over 400 women entrepreneurs present at the gathering, Shri Pawar, PD DRDA, shared strategies on packaging and sale of products. Resource Persons shared tips on how to run successful businesses, citing their personal experiences.

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The women entrepreneurs shared their success stories with the audience. Recognizing their successful ventures, 25 women entrepreneurs were presented certificates at the gathering.

On similar lines, a Women Entrepreneurs Gathering was organized in Osmanabad district on 18th March 2016 to encourage women to start their own enterprises. About 200 women entrepreneurs and 150 Active Women participated in the event and shared their experiences with the audience.

Advocate Dheeraj Patil, President, Osmanabad Zilla Parishad, Shri Sudhakar Gund, Vice President, Osmanabad ZP, Mr. Harish Daware, Speaker, Osmanabad ZP, Mr. Snajay Kale, Assistant Commissioner (Food and Administration), Mr. Dupargude, Lead Bank Manager and Mr. Liby Johnson, Kudumbashree representative attended the Forum and motivated the women.

In Pictures : Mahila Janjagruti Melava, Sindhudurg

A Mahila Janjagruti Melava was held in Sawantwadi, Sindhudurg on 19th March 2016. Hundreds of women participated in the gathering. In this picture, Smt. Pankaja Munde, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister for Rural Development and Water Conservation, Employment Guarantee Scheme and Women and Child Development, Maharashtra, is seen addressing the women.

Of Enterprises and Entrepreneurs : Women Entrepreneurs Gathering

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Down With The Digital Divide : MoU With Tata Trusts

March 2016 witnessed Umed-MSRLM enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Tata Trusts under the aegis of Hon’ble Chief Minister, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis and Chairman, Tata Trusts, Mr. Ratan Tata. A joint initiative aimed to bridge the technology-gender divide by improving ‘internet literacy’ in rural Maharashtra, the ‘Internet Saathi’ initiative will cover women in 1,200 villages in the first phase. In the second phase, the project aims to promote internet literacy among women in another 15,000 villages. The initiative (jointly developed with Google) will focus on training and enabling internet access across rural Maharashtra.

Umed – MSRLM signed a MoU with Tata Trusts to improve digital literacy in rural Maharashtra under the aegis of Hon’ble Chief Minister, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis and Chairman, Tata Trusts, Mr. Ratan Tata in the august presence of Hon’ble Ministers including Smt. Pankaja Munde, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister for Rural Development and Water Conservation, Employment Guarantee Scheme and Women and Child Development, Maharashtra and Smt. Vidya Thakur, Hon’ble MoS for Women and Child Development, Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Food and Drugs Administration, Maharashtra.