Poor
Women and Local Governance: Menaben Hartanbhai Thakor
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After
the step-by-step instruction in Ahmedabad, the nursery
prospered. Menaben now understood how to choose good
soil and locations for the saplings, and how to take
care of them properly. The saplings were planted on
village wasteland during the monsoon season. The Forest
Department visited the village regularly to monitor
progress, and found everything in order. The impact
of the nursery on Menaben and the other women was felt
immediately. She went from earning Rs.1 per day, working
only 60 days per year, to Rs.3600, after only seven
months of nursery work. After seeing this success, an
additional twenty women have started nursery work in
Janjarsar. |
The five nursery women were the original SEWA members in Janjarsar.
Their next activity, in 1993, was to start a savings group.
Menaben became the leader of a group of 36 women. The savings
group had its doubts in the beginning. The women from SEWA,
in the eyes of the villagers, looked too young to be trusted.
Some believed that Menaben was part of scheme to defraud them
of their money. Menaben did her best to dismiss their suspicions.
She personally promised to track down everyone’s money
if something went wrong. In the end, three years was not enough
to dispel all doubt and the group collapsed. But savings is
still strong in Janjarsar. Menaben and the other original
four women formed another smaller savings group of 15 women,
which is still saving today, although the ability of the women
to make regular deposits has been hampered by frequent droughts
and other natural disasters. In addition to her group, there
are eight other savings groups in Menaben’s village,
totaling approximately 180 women.
After
the January 2001 earthquake and the launch of the Jeevika
Livelihood Security Project in the village, every single woman
signed up for SEWA’s insurance programme, brining the
total enrolled to 225. Unfortunately, due to economic difficulty
resulting from drought, many of these women have been unable
to continue insurance. Menaben is a senior member of the Village
Development Committee, and is responsible for monitoring the
progress of work in the village.
In
addition to livelihood-related work, Jeevika has also undertaken
social development work in Janjarsar. All the women of the
village have undergone SEWA’s health training programme
in Ahmedabad, and six have been trained as midwives. Menaben
herself has already aided in the delivery of twelve children.
When asked what she thought was the best aspect of the training,
she replied that it was the emphasis on practical, made-from-home
cures. Her village does not have any healthcare facilities,
and as such villagers are forced to leave the village to seek
medical attention. SEWA’s health trainings concentrate
on cures and solutions that villagers can make themselves,
alleviating the need to leave the village for all but the
most serious of cases. A childcare centre has also been set
up in Janjarsar, after a demand by the VDC for more comprehensive
coverage. The Government of Gujarat’s Integrated Childcare
Development Scheme had been operational in the village for
sometime, but its services were limited. Its hours were only
from 7-11 in the morning, the hours when villagers did not
need childcare services. And meals were only provided to children
every second day. Through Jeevika, the programme has been
expanded. The government centre remains open from 7-11 and
Jeevika centre from 11 onwards, thus providing more comprehensive
childcare coverage to the village. Menaben had taken the lead
in demanding better childcare, but decided to step back, allowing
other women in the village to take responsibility and gain
experience.
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