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The Local Economy and Development
Numerous aid projects across the world have demonstrated the vital importance of the woman and particularly the mother for the proper functioning of the family. Women are devoted to their children and family. In general, they are responsible for the management of money for their family and for the well-being of the local community. Many of them are illiterate and little appreciated in their communities. Experience suggests that, with some encouragement and funding, they would like to undertake an economic activity to help their families emerge from poverty. In the rural areas, there are not enough schools in the villages and a large number of children cannot benefit from a primary education. Even when a school is not too far away, children from the poorest families may not attend school because the cost of getting there is unaffordable. These children have little choice but to work in the fields or elsewhere. If we are to promote education of the most disadvantaged children, we have first of all to increase the family income. Certain parents see little utility in theirchildren’s education because they themselves are illiterate and unaware of their role in this vicious circle of poverty.
So what can be done to promote local activities that will help develop children’s education? The first step is to organise mothers of families from the villages into “Community Organisations” (CO). Next, we have to encourage them to start saving money together, a little each day, in order to establish a small reserve that can be distributed to enable them to set up a “micro” business. As a consequence, the growing family income will allow them to send their children to school. This approach has some important collateral advantages as well. The fact that the woman is able to bring extra income into the family, the status of the woman is improved as well as her self-esteem. This approach is based on the concept that the poor must help themselves. We want to move away from the syndrome of dependence on international aid so widespread today. In this respect, we expect the villages to help us build the schools, manage the community’s funds and distribute loans according to their priorities. The project must belong to them. Furthermore, the accumulated family income must permit them to improve their children’s nutrition,
besides the ever-present rice, with food rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals so necessary for their growth.
In the villages, we have to b
ring families together to explain our approach. We have to justify why aid is focused on mothers. They are better savers of money and better lenders than the men; they look to the interests of the family in general and the children in particular. Next we have to organise the women into OC’s, which means the appointment of a president, a secretary and an accountant. Then, they will develop the statutes and rules of operation, according to a guideline, but also according to their own criteria. The project leader must always stand back during these discussions and offer advice when needed, especially on technical issues.
After three to four months of regular and mandatory savings, the donor (the project initiators, that is the CUF, the Community Uplifting Foundation, and the NGO “Schools of the World”…SOTW) will send funds to complement their savings and thus allow the mothers/families to distribute the first loans. Thanks to these small loans, the women can establish their micro-business ventures and not only increase their family income but also reimburse their loan when due. And other women in turn can also benefit from a loan. And so on… In return for this aid, we ask the villages to build a school for their children. Moreover, in the event that certain materials are not available locally, the project initiators (the CUF and the SOTW) may provide them. The interest on these loans must pay for the teachers’ salaries and the other expenses for running the school.
After the villages in the north Punjab in Pakistan, from Magura to Bengladesh, from Jhapa to Nepa, this “Revenue-Education” project has just been launched in the villages in the district of Gaya, in Bihar, in India. Thanks to the partnership between the CUF, initiator of the above-mentioned projects, and the “Schools of the Earth” association almost 300 mothers from six villages around Mukarri are today organised into OC’s. Each week they are saving up and have managed to distribute their first loans for micro-family enterprises. ”Schools of the Earth” has already completed a school in Mukarri for more than 300 pupils. Most of them come from families supporting the micro-credit project. Not one of them was previously able to get to a school. In the next few months, we expect the number of participating families to continue to increase. Our wish is to pursue this work, in collaboration with the CUF, in other rural areas where we are operating, whether in other villages in the state of Bihar, the Sunderban islands, or the Thar desert in Rajasthan.