Mukti Formed New SHG for Fisheries Women at Kakdwip

On 25^th August 2021 Mukti formed a new SHG (Self Help Group) of fisheries women at Kalinagar village under Kakdwip block, South 24Parganas. The focus of Mukti on forming such groups is to empowering women through skill development training programs, developing leadership abilities, increasing school enrollments, improving nutrition and lifestyle and thus developing the society.

Development means the upliftment in the standards of living of the poorest of poor in the society. The SHG can play a vital role in the development of the fisheries sector also. The utmost pre-requisite for this is ensuring participation of fisherfolk, especially women, in a planning process onwards and implementation of various locations specific resource-oriented development programmers. Generally in the fisheries sector, the lack of saving tendency and sometimes the lack of knowledge of procedural formalities, whatever the fisherfolk earn is being spent. Nothing is left for tomorrow. The entire family has to starve on their hard time. While becoming sick, they may depend on private money leaders for sustenance, money and medicine. Their children get drop out of school. If the family bread earner falls into the debt trap, the major portion of his earnings will be going for playing high interests.

To help and make all these women self-reliant Mukti has formed a SHG of 10 members in Kalinagar. Each of them has been provided a handbook so that every month they can deposit some money as savings. A passbook has also been provided to the group so that after a month the group members can record their collective savings. Like this every month the amount will increase. After 6 months of initiating the saving deposits, the group will receive three times the loan of the amount from Mukti. With the help of the loan, they will be able to start micro-entrepreneurship.

Mukti provides various types of training to make women self-reliant. Out of the 60-70 types of training programs of Mukti, women can avail themselves of a maximum of three trainings as per their wish. They can avail both theory and practical sessions of the training programs in total free of cost. At the end of the training session, Mukti will arrange to market the products made by them.

Mukti is hopeful that the active participation of SHG will help to solve to a great extent the common problems of the coastal sector such as illiteracy, drinking water scarcity, lack of health, sanitation and shelter which in turn can improve the local economy and march towards prosperity.