A notebook of a letter....

A notebook of a letter....

A decade ago when we joined services we were told during our training that the "Tapal" that is the daily mail that one recieved in office was the most important and must be paid complete attention. It would give you the real picture of administration. And so throughout my career, I have devoted sufficient time to it.
Last week, I was going through the folio in which all the mail received is kept. Amongst them, I saw a shiny paper attached to a long page notebook. Curious to know more about it , I took it in my hand immediately and saw that it was notebook written by Smt. Manasi Gaikar, a community resource person (CRP) of Umed MSRLM from Wada block in Palghar district. I hurriedly flipped through the pages and saw that the CRP had literally poured her heart into penning her thoughts.
The whole book is handwritten , each alphabet etched beautifully on its pages, her thoughts flowing through it.
She begins with thoughts on the journey of most rural women in a patriarchal society which is bound by customs and traditions, tied to the home and hearth, without any freedom to speak or express themselves. Her life wasn't different.
She was an ordinary woman in a village of Palghar district. She too was someone's wife and daughter-in-law living in oblivion till Umed MSRLM touched her life. Thereafter her life was completely transformed.
Inspired by the Wardhinis who had come to introduce SHGs to them , she derived the strength and confidence to join the self-help group in her village. Later she facilitated forming of a village organisation for the SHGs and also got trained to become a CRP.
Ever since then her life is devoted to the cause of empowerment of women in the villages nearby.
She is particularly impressed with the ten cardinal principles, the 'DashaSutri' adopted by MSRLM which include regular meetings, savings, internal lending, repayment of loans, health, education, taking benefit of government schemes, participation in Panchayat Raj Institutions and sustainable livelihoods leading to overall development of the individual and the village.
She is grateful to Umed MSRLM because it made her aware of her own qualities and gave her an identity. Today she is known as a CRP and has got recognition as an individual in society.
As a CRP, she has devoted herself completely to the cause. She makes an effort to understand the emotional needs of the women because that according to her is the most important. That is exactly why she emphasises on the importance of weekly meetings because it enables bonding between women. It is only when they meet often they will able to share their feelings. The meetings also ensure transparency and accountability enabling trust.
The SHG membership has also freed the women from the exploitation of money lenders. The other social benefits include rebuttal of superstitions and marriage at a young age. It has also enabled women to become aware of the importance of menstrual hygiene and procure good quality sanitary napkins under the state government's Asmita scheme.
However the most important aspect for her was understanding the banking systems and the removal of fear of banks from the minds of women. Financial inclusion had enabled them to understand various procedures in the banks beginning with the process of filling of an application to open a bank account. They also knew what a pass book was and how to update it , how to apply for a loan etc. Umed had also opened several vistas for sustainable livelihoods.
According to her the secret of being a good CRP is being sensitive to the needs of women, to be a friend and to be human.
She also feels that one must not be upset by failures but find the reasons for those failures if any and work to overcome them.
She is unable to understand the generalised apathy against government officials because according to her they too are human. In fact she feels without their support she would never have achieved so many milestones. She is particularly thankful to Block Mission Managers, Shri.Sunil Patil, Shri.Kiran Patil and Shri.Santosh Pagar who worked selflessly, at times even on holidays to support the SHGs.
This combined with the various trainings and capacity building exercises through Umed MSRLM has made her what she is.
No wonder she has even written a couplet on Umed, saying,

" Without you, there would be nothing.
Without you, there would be no dreams
Without you, we would never be there
Without you our world would be empty !"

Every word in the 45 handwritten pages of the book made me realise the depth of her thoughts and feelings. Her triumph was not only the reflection of her joys but also of the hope which Umed MSRLM had brought into the lives of many like her. My head bowed in reverance to her courage and fortitude, for making this effort and for writing so beautifully in the book....