India Part 4 - Micro-finance in Action in West Delhi
Our time in Lucknow really embedded what the micro-finance approach is about. It is not just about money, it is about improving livelihoods and helping people to help themselves. What has struck us is just how profound the impact really can be in people's lives. In the last part of our micro-finance journey we moved to Delhi where the Shikhar group, partners of Opportunity International, work in a more urban environment. This is interesting because the micro-finance model has been shown to work in a rural environment, but has struggled in the urban environment due to the higher cost structures. We journeyed into West Delhi to see a small group of women at work. The traffic was horrendous!We stopped in the area of West Delhi to meet with the women and had to walk through the streets. You can see from the state of the infrastructure that this is a pretty poor area, but this is not considered a slum. Take a look, as we walk and try and imagine yourself living there:
The video below shows an example of the Accounts Officer sitting with the women in preparation for repayments. All of the women need to acknowledge their obligation which you can see in the video below:
Again, some of the things that these women are using the funds to do are quite incredible. There were two ladies in this group who used the funds to purchase sock making machines, which is apparently a business line of that area. They showed me around and you can see a video below of the process. It is very basic, and it wouldn't meet a western standard on occupational health and safety, but these people are prepared to do whatever it takes to survive and live. Getting your next meal is a pretty basic motivator! What would you do?
You can see the last article in our blog series here:
Until next time
Mark & Chris