DBDS #008 TRAINING WORKSHOP FOR SHG LEADERS

Karuna Gamit CHHOTA UDEPUR, APRIL 14, 2009: A group of 25 women, all Presidents and Secretaries of various Self Help Groups, were taken for an Exposure-cum-Training Programme to Behavioural Science Centre, Ahmedabad. After a set of “ice-breaking” games were played, the four topics that were to be dealt with were introduced, namely, Social, Economic, Educational and Political issues. The entire group was then divided into four smaller groups and each of these groups was asked to prepare a short skit on one of the topics. The skits were extremely creative and brought a variety of issues to the fore. Each topic was then dealt with individually and in detail. The women were made aware of their role and responsibility vis-à-vis these issues. It was pointed out that the SHG should not just focus on Savings and Lending, but all the members should jointly work for an all-round development of the village. Accordingly, it was decided that every month the SHGs would prepare an Action Plan for that month and report on its implementation during the meeting in the following month. The need of networking and forming a Federation with other groups in the region was also stressed. The entire programme was very beneficial to the women. Going out of their villages and mixing with women from other areas, the exposure from a rural setting to an urban one, travelling on the Expressway, meeting people of different cultures, etc. impressed them tremendously and certainly opened up their horizons. The women returned back to Chhota Udepur promising to put into practice all that they had learnt during this training programme.