Microsavings and Credit

1. Mahila Udyog Unit
Our great India is an overpopulated country like most other developing countries of the world. At present, the population is about 110 Crores. It is a great regret that about 35 - 40 percent people live under the poverty line. A good number of rural poor women are going backwards as they cannot engage in development activities.
Nowadays approved Govt. NGOs or voluntary organization play an important role for the poor rural Women. They form small groups and disburse small loans among the group members. The group members utilize the loan for various kinds of economic activities through which they are being economically independent.
IIMC Mahila Udyog is one of them. It is also called IIMC Grameen Mothers' Bank.

Background

The Institute for Indian Mother & child started in 1989. It is a voluntary organisation for extending medical care, healthcare, mothercare, and childcare services to the poor rural people of South 24 Paraganas District of West Bengal. Gradually, it spread its activities in the area of Primary Education, Child sponsorship, Health Education, Vocational Training, Agricultural Programmes, Micro Savings & Micro Credit Programme, etc. It is noted that the Micro Credit Programme has been imported from Bangladesh Grameen Bank founded by Dr. Md. Yunus. We follow this system. The Micro Savings & Micro-Credit programme started at Hogalkuria in the year 1999 under the name and style Mahila Udyog. It is also called IIMC Mothers Bank.
The basic idea of this Mahila Udyog is economic & social upliftment of the poor village women. This Micro Savings & Micro Credit programme has evoked tremendous response from the poor families in the rural area. This scheme is very helpful for the socio economic development for the poor people.

Aims & Objects

This project provides opportunities to village women for small savings and encourages banking habits. But the primary objective is to provide them with the opportunities to get loans at a very low interest rate, which they may utilize for income generating purposes. Apart from giving a loan and getting it back, the programme is also very much concerned about social development of the family. Both economic and social development of village rural women is the purpose of the programme. The aim of the programme is to stop the money lending businesses of the village moneylenders who invest money with high interest in the village poor women. Secondly, it is to make the poor women economically independent. Thirdly to gear up the social status of the poor women. Fourthly, to encourage the children of the poor women to take primary education. Fifthly, to improve the quality of the poor village women. Sixthly, to improve the standard of living of the village women. Seventhly, to form self help groups for the helpless & neglected women to improve their social & economic development. This programme allows these rural poor women by giving them little loans, to start a working activity by which they can improve their conditions.
Another aim of this programme is to give to the poor women the means to earn money to live and above all, to earn the trust in themselves and the respect of their husbands and of the society. It helps the women to improve personality & leadership development. Above all, we can say that the all round development of the rural poor women depends on this Micro Savings and Micro Credit Programme.

History of Self-Independent of Hogalkuria Branch
There are five Branches of IIMC Mahila Udyog Unit, namely Hogalkuria, Hatgacha, Chakberia, Kalyanpur and Dhaki. Hogalkuria was the First Branch. It is started in 1999 with 3 volunteers and the office was in the IIMC School building. We were 1.5 years in this small room. The staff and members of the Mahila Udyog are increasing gradually and soon a larger office was needed. Director Dr. Sujit Kr. Brahmochary is a man of simple living & high thinking. He is a man of letters. He eventually had a new two storey building constructed in front of the school in 2001.The ground floor is the conference & Training room. The first floor is the main office and the second floor is for the residence of the staff. An extension has been added to the building as the group has increased in size. Group and members are increasing day by day. This branch is self-independent., and the reasons are:
The area is very productive, so production is round the year. Cheap labour, easy transportation and good marketing facilities are favourable for the business of the rural group members. They need more loans one after another, Hundreds and hundreds of members are coming under this programme. So the money circulation is increasing rapidly. The unnecessary revenue expenditure has been controlled. All the Community Organizers are honest, sincere and energetic,so the groups are running well.
Members’ attendances are 100% in the groups. The role of group leaders over the group is very important. They maintain the group very carefully & diligently. The relation between group members and the group Managing Committee as well as the IIMC Mahila Udyog is very nice. So all kind of activities of the groups are running well. The weekly staff meeting has been going on since the inception of the IIMC Mahila Udyog. Fortnightly meetings are held with the Directors. Group visits and monitoring are going on regularly. So the administration of the Mahila Udyog is very strong and we have established a good relationship with the political leaders and others elite persons of the rural area. The loan realization is about 98%.
In a nutshell, we can say, all these favourable conditions make the Hogolkuria Branch Self Independent. Now I is our great pleasure to report that this Branch is beginning to stand on its own feet.

Why Micro Credit & Micro Savings

We are fighting against the poverty. It has been a major objective of upliftment in most third world countries. In Bangladesh Dr. Md. Yunus started Grameen Bank in 1974 and continued until 1976. In reality Grameen Bank started in 1976. Dr Younus firstly talked to the women of the rural area. He has heard the problems of the poor to the poorest women of the rural area. He could realise the actual problems. So he went to the Bank but the Bank refused to give loan without any security. Then he tried to establish a Bank only for the rural illiterate women. It will be the ever-financial institution in the world, which offers collateral-free loan to the rural poor women. One fine morning he became successful. Now Bangladesh Grameen bank is only the model through which poor rural women can free from poverty.
At present more than 50 countries of the world follow the system of Bangladesh Grameen Bank. After 32 years Dr. Md. Yunus has got recognition for his activities. He got Nobel Prize in 13 th October, 2006. It is our great pleasure because we have been working on his Model since 1999. We are proud of this model. We do hope, one day we will be able to alleviate the rural poverty where the villages we are working at present. Our director Dr. Sujit Kumar Brahmochary determines to bloom smile in the faces of rural women. That day is not far. The poor women are self-independent in day-to-day needs. All villages will be developed in education, roads & communication, sanitation, schools etc. No want will be in the rural area. As a result, every family will lead better life.
There is good news for IIMC volunteers of all units and also for friends and well wishers of the IIMC that IIMC started in 1989, after 17 years Dr. S. K. Brahmochary, Director and founder of the IIMC has got recognition for his social welfare activities. In July 2006, the Govt of Italy rewarded Dr. S. K. Brahmochary, the highest honour of the Govt. "Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity". We are proud of this great reward.
So far more than 30,000 Women are involved in this Bank, and it is increassing day by day.

The Future Prospects of Micro Credit

Micro credit plays an important role for the development of rural poor women families. The future of the Micro credit is very bright now. This system is being introduced in both developing & developed countries of the world. It solves the unemployed problem. It increases the assets & property. It increases the per capita income. It increases the national economic growth. We think in every year many poor families will come under this programme. This programme is the real friend of helpless people of rural area. It makes the society economically strong. It makes the villages ideal one. It also makes complete women in all round development. It also makes the women from helpless to wealthy woman. So this programme is called the life of the village poor women. It is also called the 'Bank' of the poor women of the rural area. So, the future of the micro credit is very bright in the field of rural area. Above all, IIMC Micro-Credit means all round development of the society. In a word, we can say IIMC means developments. The alleviation of poverty is our prime and foremost duty. It is the main hindrance of development. If poverty prevails in the family or society or in the country, peace will not come or peace will not find in the mind of poor rural women. So, our prime duty is to send a new message to the people. What is the new Message? The Message is Micro-Credit & Micro savings system through which poverty can alleviate from the family of the rural poor women. Then the families/group members will become economically independent. As a result, peace will prevail in the rural poor families as well as in the group members.

The Poor Rural Loanee Mother Invests Their Loan in the Following Sectors:
1. Fish Culture, Fish Business and Hatchery.
2. Poultry and dressed chicken business.
3. Duckery
4. Dairy
5. Piggery
6. Vegetable cultivation & Business.
7. Guava Garden & Business.
8. Banana Garden & Business.
9. Grocery
10. Stationery.
11. Cloth Business
12. Redymade garments.
13. Hotel & Restaurants
14. Tea stall
15. Backery
15. Three wheel Van Business
16. Rickshaw Business.
17. Auto Repairing workshop.
18. Spices Business
19. Shoe Business.
20. Tailoring.
21. Knitting
22. Goatary
23. Milk Business.
24. Electrical goods Business.
25. Fire wood business
26. Furniture Business
27. Wooden Business
28. Bamboo Business
29. Flower Business
30. Decorators
31. Sweet shop
32. Rice Husking
33. Cartoon Business
34. Fruits shop
35. Rice fry (Muri) Business
36. Bag Making Business.
37. Agriculture (Paddy)
38. Broken Materials
39. Telephone Business
40. Laundry Business
41. Handicrafts
42. Cottage industry

Social Welfare Activities

IIMC Mahila Udyog unit serves the rural poor women in various ways. Namely free medical services, sponsorship for children's education, adult education centre for the rural illiterate women, financial support to the poorest women for their daughters marriage, financial support for the acute diseases of the group mothers or their husband or their children, bee keeping training for unemployed man and women vocational training for group mothers etc. Besides, we have given deep tubewel for drinking water about 100 sanitary latrine to the group members of the poor rural women. We have given Bamboo Bridge for walking of the rural people during the rainy season. We hope in near future, we shall do more developmental work for the betterment of the society.

2. Matree Udyog Unit (Sponsor Students Mothers)

IIMC believes that there are potentialities in the weakest of persons. In case these potentialities are recognized and properly awakened, it can thrust the individual towards self-reliance. Keeping this idea in mind, the tear members of the scheme discussed with the women of the villages and some of them expressed their willingness to save. However, since they did not have enough money, education or courage to go to Banks, they were not able to open any bank Account. Hence IIMC decided to state this Micro Savings and Credit programme. The team members started motivating those women who were in touch with IIMC activities through students sponsorship programme (mainly mothers of sponsored children). The beneficiaries of the programme get the following facilities.

Emergency loans up to Rs. 500.00 round the clock
4% interest on savings
The money can be withdrawn in any working day
A Mother can get a loan if she has a feasible scheme/plan for a small business
Loans are given without any security (colateral)

So far there are 2200 members in this unit.

Mozzarella & Micro-Credit
Mozzarella as part of Micro-Credit

Mozzarella is the delicious cheese made from milk. Various kinds of Italian foods are made with Mozzarella. The vast market of Mozzarella is in Italy. At present, IIMC authority is creating a market in Kolkata, West Bengal. IIMC Director Dr. Sujit Kumar Brahmochary discussed with the Italian consulate general and other Italian businessmen about the preparation of Mozzarella and also the market. .An Italian business woman named Annamaria who also has a business in Kathmandu, Nepal is the owner of Fire & Ice Restaurant in Kolkata.
She brought one technician from Kathmandu, and two boys at IIMC had been trained up for making Mozzarella.
As part of the Micro-credit programme it engages 100 women to purchase cows to provide the milk for this cheese. There is an agreement between IIMC Mozzarella project and the owner of Fire & Ice Restaurant. The production is now 1: 10, i.e.1 Kilo Mozzarella = 10 litres milk. Every day the members of micro-credit supply over 100 litres of milk to the IIMC's Mozzarella Unit. The cost of milk per litre is Rs.10 to 12 in the local market. But the IIMC Mozzarella project is giving Rs 16 per litre because of their economic betterment. So these women who take out loans from the Micro-credit bank can stand on their own feet and also lead a better life. Th women are able to pay back their loans and start to save, or apply for another loan. This makes a big difference to their lives and their families are realizing the impact of the programme