The Deal Foundation has undertaken various initiatives for the upliftment and financial empowerment of persons with disabilities. Livelihood Officers have been appointed in each taluk to conduct training sessions to raise awareness among persons with disabilities and women, including literacy training, community awareness, baseline surveys, livelihood training, establishing self-employment centers, and forming self-help groups for persons with disabilities and women. Additionally, the foundation works to establish links with banks and financial markets, form farmer producer companies, and create cooperative societies at the taluk and district levels. Through these efforts, the Deal Foundation is ensuring that persons with disabilities and women benefit from these activities through the support of Livelihood Officers.
Nirmala, the Livelihood Officer of Gadag Taluk, visited Papanashi village and informed the local persons with disabilities about the activities of the Deal Foundation and the process of forming self-help groups. Motivated by this, all the persons with disabilities in the village came together and decided to form a self-help group. A total of 12 interested individuals were gathered, and they formed the group named ‘Kalmeshwara Self-Help Group for Persons with Disabilities.’ The group opened a bank account at KVG Bank in Adavi Somapura village. All the members contribute a monthly saving of ₹100.
Subsequently, Nirmala provided training to the members of the group in book writing, 2016 Disability Awareness training, and Financial Leadership. Every month, all the members meet at the Kalmeshwara temple, where they hold meetings and contribute to their savings. Additionally, Nirmala provided the group with training in various employment-related skills, such as beekeeping, honey production, paper bag making, and market linkages, to help the members engage in self-employment.
After receiving information on employment training, the members decided that they would need capital to start their businesses. To meet this need, they decided to take loans from their group savings. Among them, Chandrashekhar Mareyannavar took a loan of ₹10,000 and started a tailoring business. Similarly, Ramaswamy Emmi took a loan of ₹5,000 for agricultural activities and started his own business. As their savings were insufficient to meet the loan requirements, the members decided to approach the bank for a loan. They agreed to obtain a bank loan and extend the same support to the remaining members.
Subsequently, with the cooperation of Veena, the Chief Promoter of the Vikalachitna Co-operative Society, the group members’ records were collected and an application for a bank loan was submitted. Based on the savings, the bank sanctioned a loan of ₹10,000 for each member. Those in need took the loans. Among them, five members have utilized the bank loan to start their businesses. Chandrashekhar Mareyannavar took a loan of ₹15,000 to start a new venture selling toys for weddings and festivals, in addition to his tailoring business. Similarly, Sangayya Kulkarni took a loan of ₹20,000 for agricultural activities. Ramaswamy Emmi took a loan of ₹50,000 to engage in beekeeping. Shashikala Patil took a loan of ₹20,000 to start a goat farming business. Devakka Gauli took a loan of ₹15,000 to open a grocery store, and has seen improvement in her financial situation.
In this way, all the members have taken bank loans to start their own businesses, and by doing so, they have become financially stable and are supporting their families. Moreover, they are proving that persons with disabilities are not inferior to anyone in society. All the members are making loan repayments without any delay every month. Furthermore, the agriculture department has provided free seeds and fertilizers to the 6 members who are engaged in farming, which has been beneficial to all the members.
In this way, all the members are gradually progressing financially in their lives. The reason for this is the support provided by the Deal Foundation. All the members have expressed their opinions about the foundation, acknowledging that while society often views persons with disabilities with pity, what we needed was not pity, but an opportunity. Deal Foundation showed us the way. By forming the self-help group, we have been able to save money, which will help us in the future for our children or during difficult times. Additionally, Nirmala provided us with information about employment opportunities and the benefits available from various departments. Furthermore, by providing training and facilitating loans for starting businesses, the foundation has guided us towards financial independence. Overall, by forming this self-help group, we have been able to establish our presence in society. We express our heartfelt thanks to the Deal Foundation, Nirmala, and Veena on behalf of all the members of our group.
In this way, the Deal Foundation is helping persons with disabilities and women in each taluk build a life of financial independence. Many wish for the foundation to continue identifying and nurturing more persons with disabilities and women, and may it achieve even greater recognition and success.
For any specific questions related to this blog or for any assistance, please contact us at Info@deal-foundation.com. To learn more about the work we do, please log in to www.deal-foundation.
Thank you.