South India's Arunthathiyar communities - poor, marginalised and discriminated against - know little but badly paid and irregular farm work or unsafe sanitation work. Denied opportunities for advancement, they are trapped in debt and deprivation. In 50 villages we will promote micro-enterprise, a proven strategy to raise incomes, arrange affordable credit to drive out loan sharks, and work with children to encourage educational achievement, breaking the cycle of abuse and dependence.
Indian villages are poor by any standards. But within those villages, one community - Arunthathiyars - are exceptionally deprived. They face discrimination by other communities, and are forced to live separately on village fringes with few facilities, often crowded two families to a house. Their only work is irregular low paid farm labouring, or unhealthy sanitation work that no one else will do. They are preyed on by loan sharks, with many children pulled out of school to work to repay debt.
We will enrol 750 women in self-help groups - a proven strategy for mobilising affordable credit that we have used for 30 years. Loans from self-help groups can transform family income through financing simple micro-enterprises like backyard cows and goats or small village shops. Groups offer loans on safe and secure terms to their members so they can meet family needs without resorting to loan sharks. Children will join clubs that mix a fun social time with encouragement to stay in school.
This approach brings economic, social and gender empowerment, gives children a better educated future and lifts community self-confidence. It breaks the cycle of poverty, abuse and dependence. The self-help groups bring hope, opportunity and freedom for generations to come. With groups linked to a federation of 300 such groups, a structure is in place that supports groups for the long term and works with them to obtain the government services and benefits their community is entitled to.
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