SHG Project

Empowerment of women and adolescent girls by strengthening self help groups and vocational training (2008-2009)

The project seeks to empower women and adolescent girls.Sukarya has been primarily working with women, adolescent girls and children. The focus of Sukarya has always been total health of the vulnerable and the marginalized. Experiences while working in the villages of Gurgaon block led to a realization that, early marriage, unsafe deliveries, large family size, female foeticide, girl child discrimination, poor maternal health, low nutritional status of women, are a common feature ,and that ,the social and economic factors are the key determinants of women health.

Poverty leads to poor nutrition and lower access to essential health care. Low caste communities are excluded from accessing health care services due to various forms of social discrimination. Low levels of literacy in women lead to low awareness levels and poor health seeking behavior .Immobility of women due to social constraints prevents women to access basic health care facilities

Sukarya conducted awareness campaigns through health programs in the village towards improvement of health status of the women and adolescent girls. Women and adolescent girls were motivated to become self reliant. This led to a demand from the women and the girls for a program that will help them to learn skills, generate income, become self reliant and to live with self respect. Sukarya decided to start a self help group and a vocational training project for the beneficiaries for there empowerment .

It was decided that the girls and the women in Bandhwari and Waliawas villages in Gurgaon Block will be organised into Self help Group.The SHGs will be a platform where the group members will be able to share their concerns and generate support if required. It will give the members a collective voice to address issues that impact their lives. The SHG members will be encouraged and motivated to share their knowledge with the rest of the community and to hand it down to the future generation. This will lead to their social and economic empowerment as well as improvement in the health of the community.

The project was started in the villages on 1^st January 2008, Two Self Help Groups Lakshya and Shanti have been formed in Bandhwari and Waliawas villages. The women of Lakshya group say," we named our group Lakshya as we have an aim to become self reliant". The women and girls are happy and determined to be empowered.

Objectives

• To form self help groups among women and adolescent girls and develop the habit of savings.
• To generate self awareness, self confidence and ability to think critically and fostering decision making skills.
• To impart vocational training (beautician course and spice making) to women and adolescent girls for promoting livelihood options
• Forward linkage with market and financial institutions for a sustainable livelihood.
• Workshops on health related issues. Women and Adolescents girls will be aware of reproductive and sexual health issues and therefore will make informed choices .Which will lead to improvement in maternal health. There will be no maternal and child mortality

Geographic Focus

2 Villages of Gurgaon Block, Haryana

• Waliawas
• Bandhwari

Target Group

The women and the adolescent girls

Who will be benefited and how?

The women and adolescents are main beneficiaries of the project.