Vinya's Story

Vinya is a woman from a tribal background, residing amidst a forest in Babina, Jhansi. She did not know where to go for work. Her family had no property, no food, no employment and no money. Her husband used to go in search of work and she used to stay hungry for days. It was painful and she often had to tie a cloth around her stomach to reduce the pain. They tried working for the local landlords but they did not get employed as they had no equipment to work. Her husband borrowed some money from the local 'shahukar' to buy food.

She finally joined a Self Help Group (SHG) and borrowed money at a very low interest rate. She first borrowed Rs. 3000/- and paid back the 'shahukar'. She then bought 9 goats within 10 months of joining the SHG. After paying back for the goats, she borrowed Rs. 25,000/- and opened a small shop and a soft drinks business at the roadside where she lives. She generated good income with that and later she borrowed Rs. 10,000/- more and bought a second hand bike for her husband, who now takes care of the shop.

In a span of one year, Vinya is now able to do a business with 45 goats. She is well off and takes good care of her daughter who has a small baby.She also has a son who wishes to pursue higher studies.

Vinya has not only progressed financially, but has also become confident of herself and her abilities! She is the President of the Village Organization and travels across districts to address various meetings to encourage more women like her to organize themselves into Self Help Groups.

Community Women Fight to Open Bank Accounts!

Four months back, RGMVP started work in two  villages of Maharajganj, namely, Patal Kunwie and Pipariya Karana Jahan. At presently, 17 women's Self Help Groups have been formed, 10 in Patal Kunwie and 7 in Piparya Karan Jahan. The groups are well disciplined, do their meetings regularly, have good savings and have initiated many activities in the last few months. Day by day, each member is becoming more and more active. 

However, the major obstacle for the group has been the bank. The village comes under the State Bank of India, Ghughali. Despite trying our best to open bank accounts for these groups, our project staff in Gorakhpur remained unsuccessful. In a meeting organized by NABARD in Ghughali, we called the Branch Manager of the particular bank, but he did not come. Our Regional Programme Manager Mr. Pankaj, along with NABARD officials visited the Branch. The bank accepted the NABARD official's request and gave a date to have the accounts opened. However, on arrival on that date, he refused to open the accounts, challenging the project staff to go complain to whoever they want!

On 11 and 12th November, there was a two day Bank Sakhi (community members who get trained on bank related issues like account opening, etc.) training, including bank sakhis from this particular village. At the next Village Organization meeting, the discussion was on how to open their bank accounts. 

On 24th November, we heard that 40 SHGs member lead by Bank Sakhi Mrs.Vindya Wasini Devi and Mrs. Neelam from the RGMVP team went to the bank. There they argued with the Branch Manager and within an hour he agreed! The very next day, on 25^th November, he sent his Field Officer to see the Self Help Group in the village. After assessing the groups, the Field Officer invited the women to come to the branch and allotted every Friday to open accounts. Till date, 7 groups have completed the paper formalities and 3 accounts have been open! The procedure has now become smoother for other women!

Call for Applications!

Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana

Call for Applications

November 2011

Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana (RGMVP) is a rights-based organization that works for poverty reduction, women’s empowerment and rural development. With the belief that the poor have a strong desire and innate ability to come out of poverty, RGMVP organizes poor rural women into self-sustaining community institutions in the form of micro-credit linked self-help groups and their federations, creating social platforms to address issues of healthcare, financial inclusion, livelihoods and education, while also linking them to existing state and non-state structures and resources, like the MNREGA and NRHM. Based out of Raebareli, RGMVP has, till date, reached out to over 400,000 poor households in 109 blocks of 34 districts in the most backward regions of Uttar Pradesh.

Having successfully developed a holistic, cost-effective and scalable model for poverty reduction, we are now looking to expand our programme and double our outreach in 2012! We are thus looking for passionate, committed, hard-working and dedicated individuals to join us as we take our work forward and actively participate in the change that RGMVP wishes to bring about!

We are specifically looking for Programme Managers for HR, Finance, MLE, Health, Communications and Scale-up Operations, Regional Programme Managers and a Programme Director to manage the overall programme. All positions will be based out of Raebareli for now. Please find attached a detailed description of the job specifications and responsibilities. 

If you are interested in applying for any of the following positions, please email your CV to hr@rgmvp.org, or address it to Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana, 619, Kanpur Road, Rana Nagar, Raebareli 229001, Uttar Pradesh, along with a short description (not more than 500 words) on why you think you are suited for the job, by 1st January, 2012.

For queries or more about RGMVP, please visit our Website, Facebook and Twitter pages.

Positions:

Programme Director

Job Responsibilities:

- Providing strategic vision and direction to the programme

- Overseeing project development and focus

- Expansion of programme

- Overlooking overall implementation of programme

Job Specifications/Criteria:

- Minimum 10-15 years of experience (preferably in the area of poverty reduction and/or rural development)

- Comprehensive understanding of development issues

- Demonstrated ability to manage large scale development projects

- Excellent leadership and teaming skills, with ability to think strategically and programmatically

- Excellent negotiating and communication skills, in positions requiring diplomacy in communicating with a

broad and diverse audience

Salary: Negotiable as per qualifications and experience

Human Resource Manager

Job Responsibilities:

- Providing vision and building capacity within the HR function

- Developing talent to maximize effort and contribution; and providing recognition and/or redirection, as

necessary.

- Provide leadership and sponsorship for core foundation/HR projects on an on-going

basis.

- Periodic evaluation of employee growth and development

Job Specifications/Criteria:

- Minimum 10 years of professional experience, with proven mastery of HR competencies at the strategic level

and in large development projects.

- Demonstrated success at influencing, negotiating and collaborating at all levels within an organization.

- Demonstrated strong analytical, interpersonal, written, and oral communication, conflict resolution skills in

situations requiring communication with broad and diverse audiences.

- Good command over Hindi and English language

Salary: Negotiable as per qualifications and experience

Finance Manager

Job Responsibilities:

- Overlooking finances for the organization (including budgeting, accounting and audit)

- Managing international grants for the organization

Job Specifications/Criteria:

- CA/M.Com/Masters/relevant degree in Finance from a reputed institute

- 8-10 years of professional experience in accountancy in any reputed firm, company or social development

sector

- Prior experience of working with an auditor/financial consultant and handling internationally funded projects

Salary: Negotiable as per qualifications and experience

Programme Manager (Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation)

Job Responsibilities:

- Define measurement and research priorities, including developing theories of change/logic models, developing

interim milestones and outcomes, developing learning questions, identifying key stakeholders and how they

might use measurement and identifying research/knowledge-building activities essential for strategy

execution

Job Specifications/Criteria:

- Advanced degree in a field requiring fluency in applied research, performance measurement, statistical

methods and causal inference, or equivalent experience

- 8-10 years of professional experience in performance measurement, evaluation and applied research in large

scale development projects

- Strong analytic skills with the ability to think strategically and programmatically.

- Excellent consultative skills, especially skilled in building strong working relationships between program staff

and measurement/research experts

Salary: Negotiable as per qualifications and experience

Programme Manager (Health)

Job Responsibilities:

- Leading organization’s objective of reducing maternal mortality and infant mortality rates in Uttar Pradesh

- Overseeing health interventions of the organization and providing strategic direction to the same

- Handling grants and partnerships for the health interventions

Job Specifications/Criteria:

- Degree/diploma/specialization in public health or related field

- 8-10 years of professional experience in public health in large scale development projects

- Strong communication, inter personal and negotiating skills

Salary: Negotiable as per qualifications and experience

Programme Manager (Scale-up Operations)

Job Responsibilities:

- Providing strategic vision and direction for expansion of programme

- Fundraising and building partnerships for organization

- Securing and managing grants for the programme

Job Specifications/Criteria:

- Demonstrated ability to secure grants and raise funds

- Strong oral and written communication skills

- Minimum 5 years of professional experience working in large scale development projects

Salary: Negotiable as per qualifications and experience

Programme Officer (Communications)

Job Responsibilities:

- Managing all internal and external communications for the organization

- Responsible for overlooking documentation (case studies, films, photography, presentations, etc.) and

publications (brochures, manuals, case study books, reports, etc.)

- Responsible for managing social media (website, blog, Facebook, Twitter)

Job Specifications/Criteria:

- Minimum 3 years of experience working in this domain

- Excellent oral and written communication skills (both Hindi and English)

- Demonstrated excellent negotiating skills, in positions requiring diplomacy in communicating with a broad and

diverse audience.

- Knowledge and prior experience working with digital media like photography, films and online social media

platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Blog, etc.)

- Keen interest in advocating human rights through films and social media

- Proficiency with editing software (film and photography) preferable

Salary: Negotiable as per qualifications and experience

Regional Programme Manager

Job Responsibilities:

- Leading and overseeing all work in programme region

- Providing strategic direction for expansion of programme in the region

- Managing, motivating and monitoring field staff

- Overseeing documentation and accounts of the regional office

Job Specifications/Criteria:

- Post graduate degree/diploma in Management or relevant domain from a reputed institute

- Minimum 5 years professional experience working in development sector

- Demonstrated good leadership and management skills

- Knowledge of MS Office

Salary: Negotiable as per qualifications and experience

Learning and sharing!

At a Village Organization meeting

Unity is Strength

Sandhya was married into a conservative poor family. Bound by restrictions and the four corners of her home, she hardly stepped out of the house after her marriage. When she did, she practised purdah. She never knew what happened outside the village. She never knew what it was to have a bank account or be employed.

Sandhya’s family was going through a bad phase. Her husband was unemployed; they fell short of food at home; her mother in-law was ill. They had to take a loan from a local money lender at 10% interest to sustain the family. Days passed and her husband still couldn’t find a job. Their debt kept increasing. They were hungry and broke and soon lost the will to live.

One day, a woman in their village heard about Sandhya’s problems and told her about Self Help Groups. Sandhya decided to give it a try. The SHG women understood her problems and immediately helped her with food. A month later they helped her again with Rs.1000 which reduced her family’s debt.  Sandhya felt a little secure and confident now.  She decided to borrow Rs. 5,000 and repaid all her loans. Next, she borrowed Rs.7000 and bought a buffalo, which started giving her regular income of Rs.3000.  A few months later, she borrowed Rs.10000 and opened a grocery store in her village.

Looking back at her dark days, Sandhya feels her SHG not only helped her family financially, but also changed her attitude and approach to life. She doesn’t practice purdah anymore. She is a post bearer in her SHG and goes to the bank herself to handle her group’s accounts. She feels empowered, confident and happy. Her husband, who once restricted her freedom, now helps her with her work and listens to her! He’s grateful for the support the SHG gave them and strongly advocates the idea of building unity among rural women through the SHG system!

SHG Meeting

Premvati's Story

Premvati, from Jhansi, used to face numerous health problems due to some complications during child birth. She was always sick and suffering from pain, but couldn’t afford medication. She couldn’t work in her farm or send her child to school, as there was nobody else to take care of her.

Self-help group or SHG women in her village heard about Premvati and asked her to join one of the groups. They consoled her and helped her buy her medicines. She soon borrowed Rs. 5000/- from her SHG, which helped her undergo treatment from a good hospital. She then started participating in the SHG events actively and attended meetings in other districts as well.

She borrowed another Rs. 5000/- from her group and invested in farming to generate income. She started earning a good amount and managed to pay back all the borrowed money within a short period of time. Next, she borrowed Rs. 7000/- with which she opened a small shop in her village. Now she looks after the shop while her husband looks after the farm.

  Today, Premvati is healthy, happy, generating good income and taking care of her family. She is educating her two children from a good private school. She has been to Hyderabad twice to be trained as a Community Resource Person and helps mobilise and motivate other women to organize themselves into SHGs, so that no other woman suffers from the difficulties and problems she had to suffer from!

From disability to ability!

Mayawati from Babina District, Jhansi, is handicapped. Though she studied till 12th standard, being physically handicapped, she never got a job. She could not do any physical work. The days were hard. Her husband was single-handedly supporting the family working as a wage labourer in a nearby town. They ate when they could afford to buy food and remained hungry when they couldn’t. Mayawati wasn’t able to contribute anything to her family. She was disheartened and felt helpless due to her inability to do anything.

One day, Mayawati was asked to join a ‘samooh’, or self-help group, by a friend of hers. She reluctantly joined, but soon found herself gaining tremendously from the group activities. The micro finance help that the SHG offered helped Mayawati a lot. She borrowed Rs.2000/- at first and purchased a sewing machine that helped her to generate income, which took care of food and her child’s education. She then borrowed Rs.10000/- and bought a buffalo, which gave her an income of about Rs.3,000-3,500 every month. She saved about Rs.25,000/- with the income generated through the buffalo.

Next, she borrowed another Rs.5,000/- from the SHG and opened a small soft-drinks business in her village. Today, she is well off. Her husband no more works as a wage labourer. He helps her with the soft-drinks business, while her son has enrolled at a good private school.

Mayawati not only benefited financially through her SHG, but also became a leader in true terms. She is the President of her SHG and she handles various other groups and related activities. She solves problems and issues that plague her village by directly visiting the block headquarters and speaking to the respective officers.

Mayawati is now an energetic, bubbly and confident woman, who doesn’t feel inferior because of her disability, but empowered with what she has achieved!

All Smiles!

Our women are happy because they overcome poverty out of their own initiative, their own passion!

We only support them.



Why Community Institutions of the Poor are Essential!

The distinct feature of poverty in India is that the boats of the poorest are nailed to the sea bed. When the tide rises, they sink. Often treated as dispensable commodities by those in power, they are helpless and unaware of even their basic rights.

This is where initiatives like RGMVP come in.

The Community Institutions of the Poor not only provide an interface or channel between the poorest of the poor and development initiatives, but also provides them with an opportunity to come out of poverty by helping them help themselves. Having said that, it is important to note that there is yet to exist a proper delivery mechanism, in terms of the Government and its agencies being able to implement schemes and programmes. Thus, there exists a wide gap between government initiatives and their actual implementation and delivery on ground.

RGMVP is not an extension of the aid delivery mechanism to the poorest. It is the yanking out of the sea bed of the chains that tie the bottom 30% of India firmly to the ocean's bed, which is a far more powerful and radical outcome.

We are not only helping them release themselves from the clutches of poverty and subordinated social status, but also helping them help themselves to unleash their true potential- through their own initiative.

Community institutions of the Poor bring together women, who voluntarily organize themselves, not only to practice micro-finance, but also to engage in awareness building and information dissemination activities (like government schemes, safe hygiene practises, agricultural practises, importance of education, etc.) and also citizenship based activities (helping them form a formidable force in fighting for one's rights, with respect to government schemes, entitlements, remedies/redressal or otherwise).

Women from within the three federations further volunteer to get trained on SHG formation (they help raise awareness amongst non-SHG members on the usefulness and importance of institutions of the poor, mobilise them and help them set up their own SHGs), issues of health, hygiene and nutrition (including maternal health, personal hygiene, menstrual health, latrine system and sanitation, child care, etc.), bank linkages (help women from SHGs set up their accounts and access loans, etc. and help them out with the procedure), etc.

The process is effective because the trainings capacitate these women to convince other women like them about the benefits of organizing the poor, as well as spread awareness and information on best practises, like the ones mentioned above.

We, thus, need to work towards helping the poor organize themselves. Over the last 10 years, we have reached out to over 350,000 households, forming over 30,000 SHGs in some of the most backward areas of Uttar Pradesh. We’re now striving to reach out to more and more poor women and help them overcome poverty and unleash their true potential!

Overcoming Discrimination

This is a story repeated time and again whenever RGMVP touches a new village. For eons now our country has been plagued by caste discrimination but now there is hope for the future as the story of Geeta Prajapati clearly shows us.
Here is her own story.

Discrimination is strongly rooted in our society. In my opinion it is a curse on us. Several situations in life have made me hate myself for belonging to a lower cast. Discrimination bothered me right from childhood. I often felt ashamed of myself just because of my caste.

Growing up our village was like any other but the one thing that pinched me was the difference between the lower caste and upper caste that was so apparent in our world. If one of us from a lower caste visited a higher caste persons home we were never allowed to enter inside the house. At public functions we were always made to sit separately, even at marriages we had to sit separately and made to dine last sitting on the ground. This treatment always annoyed and depressed me making me anxious to get equality in society. As a child I often asked my mother why there was this difference and discrimination towards the lower castes, but my mother would censure me “Don’t high fly otherwise we will stop your schooling”.

While my mother did succeed in keeping me quiet I was not satisfied and kept
my thoughts alive within me. Some years ago I learned that the Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojna was working for women welfare in our village, a Community Resource Person from Andhra Pradesh with came to my home and explained the benefits and importance of group. She also asked me to join the group. Belonging to a lower caste, I refused to join but they convinced me to join the group when they told me group does not discriminate. Hesitant as I was I stood in a corner to watch one of their meetings. When a Community Resource Personal saw me, she took me by the hand and made sit in the circle with the other upper and lower caste women, I was afraid of my sitting along with all of them but I was surprised that none of them objected. Not only did I face no objection the women both upper caste and lower caste welcomed me with open hearts giving me great confidence.

Over time the fear and hesitation inside me was aborted and soon I started keeping accounts of group. Now I look after bank linkage in the group and deal with the bank officials. The discrimination has died, there are no upper or lower caste in our group, all are equal.
Now no one is hesitant to sit and eat with me. Often group meeting are conducted at my home. My family and I get equal treatment in the society at functions as do others who belong to the lower castes.

Now I have my own identity that is not a servant of my caste. Everyone in the village takes my advice, mainly related to bank and accounts and I try my best to help them. Today I don't have to remember that I belong to a lower caste, or worry if I am with people of a higher caste, and I cant help think that this would not have been possible without the help of our “Swayam Sahayata Samooh”. Discrimination is man made and man himself can end this evil if he should choose to.

Today Geeta is the president of her Self Help Group (SHG), the Cluster Level Association (CLA) at the village as well as the the President of the Block Level Association (BLA).

Opening the door when opportunity knocks!

Fareeda was a poor and illiterate woman of Kaziyana village who earned a pittance. When RGMVP volunteers visited her village, with the intent of creating a woman’s Self Help Group (SHG) and spread the message and empower the women of the village, Fareeda thought that SHG was something meant to benefit the rich, and upper castes, and that no one would really reach out to the poor. When the pariyojana volunteer visited her, she did not pay much attention to him, as she was too caught up in her own problems.


However, the opportunity may have been wasted, but thankfully, the SHG of the village found a firm footing, and later she was visited by members of this same groups, who were trying to reach out to other ladies like themselves, and give them the support and backing of the SHG to improve their standard of living.


They explained the functioning of the group, and related experiences wherein they had benefited immensely from the SHG. They discussed her problems of caste, social status, and low income with her, and convinced her that together they could help her find a better way of living. She finally joined.


In the group they discussed her problems, and helped get a loan to start her own poultry farm. Also the group made her appreciate the value of an education, she also started to teach herself to read and write.


When the Village Organization (group of SHGs) was later formed, she was nominated as joint secretary, and then, to the Village Level SHG federation, and even as a representative on the Block Level SHG federation (BLA).


Though the moment was the greatest of her life, the BLA office was too far away from her village, making walking there a problem, but she has taught herself to cycle, and now cycles to office and back everyday. This, her story of empowerment, and leadership, serves, as she does, to help others find their legs, and make more of themselves than otherwise possible.

An Example to follow

The story of Rajpati and the Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana (RGMVP) is an often repeated effort of the program to bring empowerment and understanding to women in the remotest parts of the nation. Rajpati, coming from a backward class and suffering from the practice of parda, never realized that there was a wider world outside the four walls of her house, and that, more importantly, she could participate in that larger world. Through the work of RGMVP, she has discovered not only her own latent abilities, but is now helping others to do the same!

When she first approached the RGMVP team, she was a purdah clad woman, barely able to speak to them. She stammered her name, but was almost unintelligible. Nervous and unsure of herself, she was another example of so many of India’s neglected women in villages across the country. Bound to their houses and by veils, they fail to realize that they can do so much more.

But the change in Rajpati is a beacon of hope for all the other women like her. Boosted by RGMVP, she now is a confident woman, sure of herself and unfettered by the binds of her past. But what is amazing is that she isn’t content to have found herself, she’s now leading others to leave behind the same chains, and discover their role in the wider world. As a Community Resource Person with RGMVP, she is helping women find the same confidence that she now has.


Rajpati has become an adept public speaker and is fluent in conveying the goals and ideas of the RGMVP to gatherings, and her own story is her best metaphor. The change in Rajpati, from a nervous, shy, and helpless woman, to a teacher and guide, truly is a story of empowerment and growth one should be proud of.

Together we can

Every day at dawn, a new story begins. One more woman stands up to the test of time and takes the step towards independence and happiness. Malti's story is one such story that reminds us of the difference that we can make in the lives of the poor. 

"When we were not in the samooh, we were scattered. When we came together, we got to know each other, we became strong because we are united. Recently when there was a fire in village Rudali, some houses were burned down. All the sisters got together and we helped with grain, clothes, other material.
We meet every week, which we all enjoy. At the meeting, the first thing we ask all sisters is what problems they have. If someone has a problem, we give the loan to them first.
We have learnt how to live together, we can now speak publicly. I have stopped doing pardah. We have decided we will not give or take dowry.
In the beginning my husband did not want me to join – he said why roam around here and there. Now he doesn’t say anything. In fact we hold meetings in the house and the men see what we are doing. When the men need money, they ask the group."