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Shantha Ragunathan: The Woman Who Lifted An Entire Village By Uplifting Its Women!

Written By: Sonali
October 17, 2020
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When Shantha took up a volunteer job at a local government office in the village of Kodapattinam, situated in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram district, she had no idea that her life would change forever — and not only her life, but that she would inspire, empower and transform several other lives!

Shantha (who, like many women where she lives, doesn’t use her last name) was born amidst extreme poverty, had lost her parents at the age of six and was married in an extremely poorer family. Life was hard — but it became harder after her children were born — she was unable to make ends meet and support her two kids.

The idea of volunteering at the government office was to get some exposure to a wider world beyond her immediate family and community. The job gave her nothing except for reimbursing her bus fares, but she did get an experience of working in an office and networking with government workers and business people — and that’s what she was looking for.

It was during her tenure at that office when she heard of self-help groups (SHGs) — the idea was based on the model of microfinance — and Shantha believed that this could alleviate her poverty. The prerequisite was that each individual from the group had to contribute an equal amount of money to avail a matched amount of loan by the bank with subsidised interest rates.

Source

The process was then followed by the submission of business ideas by the group, and if approved, the loan could be used to get their business going, and part of their revenues could be used to repay the loan over time.

All Shantha wished was a minimum of 20 women willing to contribute INR 10 each to start the group. But her fate wanted to test her — and it took her more than two years to find those 20 women. This would be enough to picturise the poverty level and poor condition of that village I assume!

Shantha never gave up. She went from door to door — tried several times to convince those women — gave them ideas to save that INR 10, which we randomly spend on chocolate or cigarettes! And she did it. 

The bank, initially, was not ready to believe her plans, because she was a woman, but this gritty lady did not give up even then. After six months, she was able to convince the bank, and in her words, she learnt to deal with such issues herself. And as of today, the bank trusts them more than they trust most men in her village.

Source

Shantha’s self-help groups (SHGs) AKA microfinance group started with buying cows and selling their milk. In 2009, she came in contact with a Chennai-based bag manufacturer which was looking to outsource the packaging part of its business. Keeping the financial well-being of the women of her village, she immediately agreed to the deal.

It took her some time to find a space for this job and to convince more women to join it, but eventually, it kicked off, and she employed more women over the years. You can guess the profit by the fact that they managed to manufacture more than 5,000 bags per week with a strength of 26 women in the group. These are the women whose lives were drastically transformed by employment. They became more self-independent, empowered and self-sufficient.

Shantha’s self-help groups (SHGs) also serve as a model for women in other villages. She helps other women to begin from scratch, and she continues to inspire others to move forward in their life.

As for herself and her kids — her son is the first graduate and an engineer from her family to work at a reputed company — she owns a concrete house, a television, a fan, a bed, a stove and a dignified life which each of us work hard to live.

Source

“I was the only one excited about it. But I knew I should start it in my village. Today, we have a great track record…with the bank. The women recognise the fact that there are several of us…and we are all responsible for each other, so everyone pays on time. Looking at how well we managed (it), the bank called us and asked us to help start groups in surrounding villages. After I started about two groups, I trained people to start their own groups. I’m living happily and peacefully,” Shantha told the BBC.

October 17 is observed as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty throughout the world. As per the United Nations, high poverty rates are often found in small, fragile and conflict-affected countries, and as of 2018, 55% of the world’s population have no access to at least one social protection cash benefit.

The theme for the Day this year addresses the challenge of achieving social and environmental justice for all. Individuals like Shantha, who thinks of others upliftment along with theirs, are much needed for this society right now, and Infano intends to be one of them — by empowering more women, bringing more such stories to you with a hope to bring a light of change. #EndPoverty #InfanoWomen

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Sonali

A 'non-9-5 desk job' ambivert geek who chooses her own audience, Sonali loves sharing stories and finding the corners where humanity still exists! She believes that every individual's story is unique and special. She loves writing about the untouched and unspoken segments of society. When not writing, you can find her listening to someone's stories or playing with dogs. Sonali values mental health and encourages people to speak their heart out!

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This Man Is Setting Up Sanitary Pad Dispensers In Public Toilets

Written By: Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin
October 5, 2020 | 03:24 PM |
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Imagine a world without social activists. Its better not to. For these people with their selfless nature bring quiet changes in the world we live in. And many times, we are not aware of the work they do or the lives they have affected. 24-year-old Sobhan Mukherjee is one such person who chose to make a difference in the world with his service.

Hailing from Kolkata, Sobhan’s act of creating stickers that read Tridhara, (the third gender) and putting it outside public toilets for separate sections for the third gender, in certain districts of West Bengal had already touched hearts 3 years back. Sobhan is now also hailed as the ‘Padman’ of Kolkata after the work he has been doing for menstruation by setting up sanitary pad dispensers in public toilets.

“After a colleague’s absence at a meeting, when I called to check up on her, she told me that she had got her period on the bus and didn’t have a pad so she had to return home. That got me thinking how thousands of women must be deprived of attending work, school, sports because of this”, says Sobhan. “A basic availability of sanitary pads in public toilets could solve this issue for many”, he thought.

So Sobhan bought 20 packets of sanitary pads and kept it on a table in a public toilet. His parents were so supportive of his act that his mom hugged him and his dad even funded him for more. “I have been brought up with the ideology that you must help the people around you”.

“After posting about my initiative on social media strangers came forward with financial support. But people started hoarding the free napkins. That’s when I replaced the table with a dispenser machine made out of ice-cream cup box and when that didn’t work either, I started charging Rs. 2 for each pad.”

1st bandhan pad dispenser
Pad dispenser made from ice cream box

Soon Sobhan was conducting menstrual education campaigns in villages for creating menstrual hygiene awareness and break taboos surrounding it. After a lot of hesitation, the villagers got comfortable to share their problems with a man.

“I also make a documentary on menstrual hygiene to create awareness. Also with the help of local authorities, I set up medical camps for women who complained about a lack of lady doctors to treat their lady problems.”

In a year, Sobhan had built sanitary pad dispensers across 70 public toilets in Kolkata under the name Bandhan and was awarded Rs. 25,000 cash by the CM, Mamata Banerjee.

Source

“With that money, I bought vending machines. I have now developed an app where you can track the nearest washroom with a sanitary pad dispenser. I want these sanitary pad dispensers and apps to be available in all the metros of India so that more women across the country can have easy access to sanitary napkins when they need”.

Sobhan has come up with a concept of Self Help Group in villages where with just a loan of Rs. 10000, a group of women can set up a manufacturing unit of sanitary napkins which can be sold at a very affordable rate. “They can breakeven at 5 months and return the loan at 0% interest and with the profit, they can use it to rotate the recurring expense. This model helps to not only to generate employment to this SHG but also empowers the women of that area by giving them access to low-cost sanitary napkins and helps break the taboo surrounding menstruation”.

This concept has already been successfully implemented by him in 2 units of Sunderbans. Lack of funds is what is preventing him to expand this concept to other villages.

“If corporate and organizations can come forward and support us in this initiative, very soon access to sanitary napkins to most women in rural areas will be possible”, says Sobhan.

Sobhan’s work has got him recognition from various sectors but what he requires is financial assistance. With the salary he earns from an NGO, he puts in most of his earnings for his cause, as he has been doing since he was 20 years old.

If you think that the fabulous work of this young man needs to be supported then like and share this article to make sure it can reach the right channels and he can receive the support he needs.

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Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin

Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin has done her masters in Journalism & Communication and has worked as a senior journalist, editor and columnist for leading publications like The Logical Indian, Deccan Chronicle, Worldwide Media Corporation, The Bridge and Provoke.
With Infano, she hopes to create more awareness about women’s health issues. Suffering with Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, she has also been advocating for its awareness through media.

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