India
Education
Updates from the Field - Business School for Rural Women in Maharashtra
Updates from the FieldUpdates from the Field (or Progress Reports) on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.com by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
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Recent Updates from the Field
Expansion and Financial Inclusion
By Chetna Sinha - Founder and Chair of the Mann Deshi Fo, May 25, 2009 11:50 AM
Dear Business School Supporters and Donors:
Thank you for your continued support of the Business School. The past few years have shown tremendous growth as we have opened branches in three locations – Mhaswad, Vaduj, and Dahiwadi. We have also begun to launch our Mobile Business School, which will provide a mobile classroom to reach women in rural villages who are unable to attend courses due to social and economic barriers.
Enrollment in our financial literacy course increased from 5,304 students in December 2008 to 5,701 students in March 2009. Other popular courses include computer literacy, English speaking, and basic tailoring. A veterinary camp to vaccinate and immunize the farm animals of our clients was very successful as over 850 students participated.
Our future plans include expansion of our course offering and further financial inclusion of women through the expansion of their micro-enterprises. This includes exposure visits for idea generation, a marketing center to connect suppliers and consumers, and the launch of SmartCard technology to streamline processes and increase efficiencies between the Bank and the Business School. The Business School plans to open two more branches in the near future in Satara and Solapur where demand has been expressed by the Bank’s clients.
We greatly appreciate all the support you have given us so far and hope that you will be able to help us in for our future projects.
Affectionately,
Chetna
Thank you for your continued support of the Business School. The past few years have shown tremendous growth as we have opened branches in three locations – Mhaswad, Vaduj, and Dahiwadi. We have also begun to launch our Mobile Business School, which will provide a mobile classroom to reach women in rural villages who are unable to attend courses due to social and economic barriers.
Enrollment in our financial literacy course increased from 5,304 students in December 2008 to 5,701 students in March 2009. Other popular courses include computer literacy, English speaking, and basic tailoring. A veterinary camp to vaccinate and immunize the farm animals of our clients was very successful as over 850 students participated.
Our future plans include expansion of our course offering and further financial inclusion of women through the expansion of their micro-enterprises. This includes exposure visits for idea generation, a marketing center to connect suppliers and consumers, and the launch of SmartCard technology to streamline processes and increase efficiencies between the Bank and the Business School. The Business School plans to open two more branches in the near future in Satara and Solapur where demand has been expressed by the Bank’s clients.
We greatly appreciate all the support you have given us so far and hope that you will be able to help us in for our future projects.
Affectionately,
Chetna
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A Land and Premises for the Business School
By Chetna - Founder of Manndeshi, February 01, 2009 10:53 PM
Dear Supporter and Donors,
We are writing to you to inform you of some exciting news. Due to its success, Mann Vikas Samajik Sanstha now needs more space to expand its operations. The unprecedented rapid growth of the Mann Deshi Udyogini Business School for Rural Women means that our NGO needs to move to a new location to be able to fulfil the demand for courses.
This expansion is vital, therefore Mann Deshi has recently purchased land in Mhaswad on the Satara Road and is in the process of drawing up plans for a new building to house the NGO and Business School. From this building we will be able to double or triple the number of women we are helping to gain new skills and set up businesses so that they can attain greater financial independence.
The success of business school has motivated Mannvikas Samajik Sanstha to have their own building for business school. Estimated cost of the land is Rs.45,00,000 lacs.
We greatly appreciate all the support you have given us so far and hope that you will be able to help us in this instance.
Affectionately,
Chetna
We are writing to you to inform you of some exciting news. Due to its success, Mann Vikas Samajik Sanstha now needs more space to expand its operations. The unprecedented rapid growth of the Mann Deshi Udyogini Business School for Rural Women means that our NGO needs to move to a new location to be able to fulfil the demand for courses.
This expansion is vital, therefore Mann Deshi has recently purchased land in Mhaswad on the Satara Road and is in the process of drawing up plans for a new building to house the NGO and Business School. From this building we will be able to double or triple the number of women we are helping to gain new skills and set up businesses so that they can attain greater financial independence.
The success of business school has motivated Mannvikas Samajik Sanstha to have their own building for business school. Estimated cost of the land is Rs.45,00,000 lacs.
We greatly appreciate all the support you have given us so far and hope that you will be able to help us in this instance.
Affectionately,
Chetna
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A Business School Success
By Manndeshi - The Story of Bainabai Sagar, February 29, 2008 05:05 PM
Bainabai, who is forty-five years old, overcame an early life of tragedy and challenges to become one of Mhaswad’s most driven and respected micro entrepreneurs.
Married at the age of nine to a heavily drinking man who had never held a steady job, Bainabai faced abuse at the hands of her mother-in-law and endured the harsh treatment of her husband’s family. She finally moved to Bombay with her husband and children at the age of fifteen, but struggled in the city to provide for her children, who were continually sick and unhealthy.
She finally made the decision to return to Mhaswad, and left her husband to begin a new life with her children. Since, she has risen from wage labor work to owning her own chai stall business, leading SHG groups, and using Mann Deshi bank services to enhance her business and livelihood.
Bainabai will say that for the first time in her life, she feels truly happy. The confidence and respectability she has gained, as well as the range of business skills such as understanding interest rates, negotiating financial transactions and marketing SHG groups has added enormously to her life. As a businesswoman who has risen from difficult circumstances, she is a figure of respect in the community, and someone whose advice is often sought by other women interested in microfinance.
She still faces certain struggles; her husband returns from Bombay every six months and demands money and upsets her children. She has also faced difficulty with the municipality and has been forced to relocate her stall several times. Despite it all, she remains optimistic about her future, and is happy to finally be sending her youngest daughter to school with a full lunch box and high quality clothes. Her daughter is in 12th standard, an amazing achievement, and Bainabai has high hopes for her higher education.
Married at the age of nine to a heavily drinking man who had never held a steady job, Bainabai faced abuse at the hands of her mother-in-law and endured the harsh treatment of her husband’s family. She finally moved to Bombay with her husband and children at the age of fifteen, but struggled in the city to provide for her children, who were continually sick and unhealthy.
She finally made the decision to return to Mhaswad, and left her husband to begin a new life with her children. Since, she has risen from wage labor work to owning her own chai stall business, leading SHG groups, and using Mann Deshi bank services to enhance her business and livelihood.
Bainabai will say that for the first time in her life, she feels truly happy. The confidence and respectability she has gained, as well as the range of business skills such as understanding interest rates, negotiating financial transactions and marketing SHG groups has added enormously to her life. As a businesswoman who has risen from difficult circumstances, she is a figure of respect in the community, and someone whose advice is often sought by other women interested in microfinance.
She still faces certain struggles; her husband returns from Bombay every six months and demands money and upsets her children. She has also faced difficulty with the municipality and has been forced to relocate her stall several times. Despite it all, she remains optimistic about her future, and is happy to finally be sending her youngest daughter to school with a full lunch box and high quality clothes. Her daughter is in 12th standard, an amazing achievement, and Bainabai has high hopes for her higher education.
Pictures:
