Kuppamma stands up from among the crowd of 300 women gathered in a small hall rented for the occasion. She makes her way to the microphone and waits with excitement for her turn to share how her life has turned around since joining a small business self-help group six months ago. The women are all members of self-help groups supported by Presbyterian World Service and Development partner, Roofs for the Roofless, and have gathered to share their experiences and inspire one another about what can be accomplished when they work together to save money.
In the past, whenever Kuppamma needed money she had to borrow from a local money lender who charged exorbitant interest rates. Her husband works as a daily labourer for $2 a day, and is never assured to have work or earn enough for the family to make ends meet. Under these circumstances, many poor families in India struggle to send their children to school, and often borrow from money lenders who charge extremely high interest rates — even as much as 10 per cent per day! Many literally become enslaved to the money lenders with no hope of freedom from their debts.
Kuppamma found a fairer source of credit when she joined Roofs’ Navaratnam self-help group. With little extra income to spare, most of the group members started saving just 50 rupees per month (about $1). After six months of saving together, the local bank authorized a loan of 170,000 rupees ($4,000) for the group. Kuppamma received 9,500 rupees ($225) as her share and invested in her small business to sell papad, a crispy flatbread. With her earnings of 1,000 rupees ($25) per month, Kuppamma is able to send her three children to school and still have extra income to invest elsewhere.
In an effort to help women break free from the bonds of debt to money lenders, PWS&D’s partners occasionally offer to pay their loans in exchange for the women repaying the partners with zero interest. Soon enough, the self-help groups are able to save enough together to render the money lenders’ services obsolete and the money lenders have to find business elsewhere. The women are able to invest their earnings in their families, businesses and communities, taking control of their futures to create lasting change.
The line at the microphone just keeps growing. In the last few months, women in self-help groups received training in literacy, basic accounting, small business management, and how to run their group meetings. As they learn about their rights, they become agents of change for their communities and take a much stronger place in society. They have successfully become entrepreneurs, leaders and an inspiration to many around them, and I am proud to witness that transformation.
