Visit MS-Denmark

A weak group with strong members

The motivation has gone, the members do not pay regularly and the Gautam Buddha group in Tilaurakot VDC in Kapilvastu has difficulties gathering all 17 members at a time.
“When we arrange a meeting everybody has to do something else, be it to go to the market or work in the fields. We want the group to be well-functioning, but it is not”, says one of the 12 male members in the group.

That the group in Tilaurakot is unsuccessful is also a fact recognized by the local organization ‘Rural Self-reliance Development Centre’ (RSDC) and the MS Nepal partner organization Kalika Self-reliance Social Centre (KSSC) are supporting But it has not always been like that.

When the group started two years ago it was characterized by energy and a high level of commitment. Two social mobilizers supported the group in the process of saving money and receiving various trainings from RSDC. But after a while, social mobilizers stopped turning up at the meetings and the group started having problems. For the last two years the group has not been functioning smoothly. One member has even failed to repay his loan.

The group members are all sorry because they still want to be in the group from which they after all have received some benefits. Off season vegetable farming training has given them better income and a new road leading to the village has been constructed in cooperation with two other groups associated with RSDC.

Rickshaws and motorbikes can easily come and go to the village and the improved road access has also made it easier to transport goods to and from the market.
One of the five female members of the group describes the construction of the road as the biggest achievement of the group.

But the road is not all. Group member Sudama Yadav says , “Before joining the group we used to cover our heads with scarf. Now we show our faces. We have learned a lot and have discussed many different issues within the group and I would like to learn more. I think that I can gather a group for non-formal education class - if you would
help us!”

Such statements are proof that the motivation is still there. It just needs a boost. To the members, the solution is easy: “We need more women to join and we need a new face to come and help us get started again.”

Despite the problems faced by Gautam Buddha group and the fact that the group is considered weak by themselves and the local NGO supporting it, it has produced strong members. One of them is the secretary, Tana Parsad Yadav, who is a board member
at RSDC. According to Yadav, the group is fully aware that it is not well functioning. Still, people benefit from involvement in a group which opens up opportunities for trainings and financial possibilities. Some of the members have received a loan to buy a buffalo. Others have learned how to raise goats.

Many have started to grow off-seasonal vegetables giving them a better and more regular income. Another important and may be less visible side effect is that the group members have gained more self-confidence. For example, five members recently went to see the District Forest Office and had the guts to ask for the possibility of using some forest land.

“I myself can now talk to government officials without any hesitation. I feel more confident”, Tana Parsad Yadav says realizing that his own status has increased after his involvement in the group. The secretary is not the only one benefiting from a better social status.
“The off-seasonal vegetable training and the loans provided by RSDC has meant many good changes for us and our families. Now we can send our children to boarding school,” he adds.