Sewa Bank: A Case Study Of SEWA Bank

SEWA Bank

SEWA was the brain child of Gandhian and civil rights leader Ela Bhatt and was founded in 1972, It was conceived as a branch of Textile Labour Association (TLA) which was founded by Gandhi in 1918. It was in 1972 when Gujarat became the first state in India to register the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) as a trade union. The main objective of this step was to improve their income by"strengthening its members' bargaining power” and providing more employment and accessibility to social security. Taking a step ahead in 1973 the members of SEWA decided to found "a bank of their own" with a view to address their lack of access to financial services. The named it as Mahila SEWA Co-operative Bank to which four thousand women contributed

Pioneered by a group of young professionals who strongly believed in the conviction that individuals with knowledge resources and empathy for the marginalised must work with communities at the grassroots in order to help them overcome poverty.

PRADAN propagated the theory of conquering economic poverty by enhancing the livelihood capabilities of the poor and giving them access to sustainable income earning opportunities while breaking them free from their past by developing an alternative vision of their future and set achievable goals. They must be equipped with the technical, organisational, negotiating, and networking skills that will facilitate the fulfillment of their goals. Our aim is to stimulate and support these poor women and men to dream of a better future and stimulate their sense of agency as they endeavor to enhance incomes, improve access to services or claim rights and

This programme is designed to ensure and speed up Women’s Empowerment. It encourages women participation in political activities at rural level. Grihini has by now benefited some 606 women by forming 40 groups from 24 villages of Tilda and Simga blocks. These woman groups have registered a saving to the tune of Rs 6,93,14000 and disbursed loans amounting to Rs 9,99,863. The last 25 months have seen launching of various programmes such as: 336 Training Programmes, 12 Educational Tours,2011 meetings, formation of 8 cluster groups, 32 awareness programmes, construction of 5 community properties, establishment of 5 grain banks and training of 3 Tele conferencing. These groups are presently setting new examples in the field of social justice and village development by using their resources