How enlightened is a society? How progressive is their thinking? How compassionate are they? Every society, every nation must strive to score high on these parameters. And perhaps the strongest benchmark to gauge the development of a society is the status of its women. Indian women have come a long way, yet huge imbalances still persist. This is where Sparsh is stepping in, trying to make a difference where it matters.

 

Our experience has demonstrated time and again that the surest way to bring out a woman’s potential is to train her for a sustainable means of earning her own income. This immediately gives her control over own life choices and gives her a higher status within her family and the community. This also results in better healthcare and education for her family.

 

We have followed this path by helping to set up women’s self-help groups in rural communities. Each group takes on an income generating activity like collecting, processing, binding and marketing brooms; mushroom cultivation; manufacturing siali leaf plates; producing art and craft products from bamboo; processing and packaging organic foods. Dairy farming in the women’s backyards has also proved to be an excellent source of income. Sparsh helps the women with knowhow, marketing and linking them to avenues of credit.

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We work with them in training the women and helping them to find steady markets for their products. We link them to banks and financial institutions to avail of credit facilities and Government support schemes, wherever possible. Women’s collectives provide mutual support to each other in myriad ways – financial, social, educational and emotional. The impact is visible.