Maruteshwara Differently-Abled Self-Help Group, Muttupura, Taluk Mundaragi — this group was started three years ago and has 12 members.
Kanakappa Uppar, a member of this group, is 38 years old and has had a physical disability since birth — he does not have both legs and also suffers from spinal problems. Because of this, he is unable to walk and needs assistance from others wherever he goes. He said, “My life has become very difficult because of this.” His parents passed away when he was young, and now he lives with his elder sister and brother-in-law. There are a total of six members in the household. His sister and brother-in-law take good care of him. His sister has three children who go to school, and they too take good care of him.
Kanakappa, along with his sister and brother-in-law, works in agriculture. He studied up to the 3rd standard but couldn’t continue further. When he was young, his school friends used to carry him to school. However, after 3rd standard, they stopped doing so, saying it was getting difficult. Due to financial constraints, he could not afford a cycle or a cart, so he had to stop going to school. After joining the Shri Maruteshwara Differently-Abled Self-Help Group, he became a shareholder member of the Surakshita Differently-Abled Credit Co-operative Society. And…
I am currently engaged in agricultural work and have 4 acres of irrigated land. Because of this, I have taken loans twice from the Surakshita Differently-Abled Credit Co-operative Society. The first time, I used the loan for agricultural activities such as seeds and fertilizers, which resulted in a very good harvest and brought me substantial profit. So, I took a second loan again for agricultural activities. I am repaying this loan in 12 monthly installments, including both the principal and the interest.
Kanakappa’s Thoughts:
Under the guidance of Deal Foundation’s Livelihood Officer Renuka, I formed and joined a self-help group. This helped me become a shareholder member of the Surakshita Differently-Abled Credit Co-operative Society. As a shareholder member, I was able to receive financial support in the form of a loan, which greatly helped me carry out agricultural activities. The loan was easy to manage because it came with a low-interest rate and the option to repay in installments. As a differently-abled person, I can say that this made things much easier for me. Elsewhere, banks or finance companies often refuse to provide loans to people with disabilities, questioning what kind of employment we could possibly have. But here, we were given an opportunity to become members and engage in livelihood activities. our group and members were provided with training in financial management, leadership, awareness about government schemes, and self-employment. All of this has been very beneficial to us, he shared.