India Part 3 - Understanding the True Micro-Finance Impact
We had another day around the area of Lucknow, before our afternoon flight back to Delhi. We went and sat with another group of women who were able to tell us about their work. Again, some amazing stuff. We were very embarrassed as they made us sit in the shade whilst they sat in the sun. They would not hear of anything else. We talked to them for about an hour and a half about their projects and what it means to them.
One of our tour team asked one lady what the first things she did once her business started to move forward. The first thing she did was put a proper roof over her head so that they were dry. The second thing that she did was to make sure her children were eating three times a day. The final thing that she did was to start sending her children to school.
It was just like Maslow's hierarchy of needs. We asked a group leader what it meant to her to be a group leader and she told us the following: firstly it meant that she had to focus on the whole group's different businesses succeeding, not just her own (under the micro-finance model, the whole group must repay their loans each year in order to qualify for a loan the next year). It also meant that people in the village asked her for advice and help on financial and business matters which made her feel good and important. If you have ever looked at Maslow's hierarchy of needs you will know that this is about providing "self esteem" (the first levels are about basic survival - shelter, food, water). I have always thought that this model was very western, but it made me realise that it applies across the world. We all want the same basic things, and the micro-finance approach is an enabler that works in helping achieve this.
The final act, that had all of us in tears came last. At the end of all our questions, we asked the group whether they had any questions for us. We thought they might ask us what it was like to live in Australia, what animals, etc, etc. That isn't what happened. One lady responded on behalf of the group. Her response floored us -
"We have no questions for you. Because of what you do, and the money that you provide, our children eat 3 meals a day. That is enough".
Grown men were trying not to cry and it made us all realise what a special trip this had been and what an impact the few dollars we provide can really make. I also later reflected that the incredibly powerful thing about this was that it was not us who had put the food on her children's table, it was her. All we had done was enabled her, with working capital for her business, to put the table on her children's table herself. Nothing could be more empowering.
We left, sobered and reflective, ready for the next part of the trip in Delhi.
You can see the fourth article in our blog series here:
Chris & Mark.