Inspired in Mhaswad

Since midpoint, I have not had much to write about primarily because, except for some friends visiting Udaipur, my life in India has become more routine and I have not been traveling much. But this past week, I was able to take some time off and go on an "exposure visit" and visit a fellow Fellow, Suzanne Rizzo (http://suzannerizzo.blogspot.com), who is working at a microfinance bank/NGO in rural Maharastha.

Upon arriving in her town, Mhaswad, I could immediately see what she loves about her placement. As the sunset in the far distance, we walked through the quaint town and across a dried up river to her mentor's home, where she lives with two of the other volunteers. It was peaceful and isolated in a very beautiful and serene way. After dinner, we sat outside and enjoyed a thunderstorm that had recently rolled into town as if to welcome me to Mhaswad. As we watched the lightning in the distance and took advantage of the breeze that came with the rain, Suzanne's mentor came by and told us to wear shoes inside the house tonight. I soon found out that this was the first rain of the summer and with it usually came scorpions into the house. To give you some additional background on Suzanne's rural placement, I had already heard of her being awoken by rabid rats crawling over her in the middle of the night on various occasions. Also earlier in the night, she had told me that they many snakes on the premise. So needless to say my first night sleeping in the basement by myself was…interesting. But I made it through the night and the fun began the next day.

Suzanne was a terrific host, arranging for me to meet multiple clients of the bank (which I will talk about later), check out the bank branch in Mhaswad, tour the recently-opened radio station, and have some one-on-one time to talk with her mentor, Chetna, who is also the founder of both the bank and the NGO.

 

Our day begin in the best way possible, with plenty of food. Suzanne had arranged for a cooking lesson with the mother of her friend, Archana. It was actually less “a class” and more of an opportunity to sit and watch someone cook egg curry and eat great food. Archana was not available to join us but sent along her daughter since her mother did not speak much English. The food was delicious and hanging out with Archana's mother and daughter was a great way to start the day.

After brunch, we headed off to work where I was given a tour of the bank branch, the NGO’s radio station (first rural radio station run by an SHG), and Suzanne took me to visit Archana at her store. I should probably tell you a little about Archana because her story is really inspirational for me. She is a little over 30 years old and has a wonderful 9 year-old daughter. 

After being married off at the young age of 18, she had a really tough situation with an awful husband and an abusive relationship with her in-laws. Divorce is not acceptable in India under even the worst of circumstances, but to make matters worse, her parents feared that if she left her husband to come home, they would be unable to marry off her younger sisters. 

The situation eventually got to a point where 

Archana no choice but to take her daughter out of the hell and run back home (her sisters had been married off). So that she would not become a financial burden on her parents, she took a loan from Mann Deshi (the microfinance bank) and started a seamstress business. The venture has since grown into a prosperous business and Archana is now in the process of opening a second store. Her financial savings and life is dedicated to her daughter, who is at the top of her class in school.

Later in my trip, Suzanne had also arranged for me to meet with another one of the bank's success stories, Mrs. Vanita Pise. About ten years ago when her husband’s poultry business failed, Vanita took a loan from Mann Deshi to rear buffalo and goats. She grew as a leader within an SHG and has since organized and started 35 SHGs. In 2004 she took a loan to start a business making paper cups and with the success of her business, she began to sell similar paper cup-making machines to other women so they could begin their own businesses. As we sat in Vanita’s home, she showed us news clippings of her receiving the India’s Woman Exemplar Award from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The award is for poor, underprivileged, community-level women who have excelled in contributing to development. Vanita has an impressive presence when you meet her and it is not difficult to see how she has become a leader in her community and an inspiration to many.

Before I left Mhaswad, I also had an opportunity to sit with Chetna, the founder of the bank and NGO. We talked about how she started in various movements and then when she settled in Mhaswad with her husband, she saw a need for financial services for the women of the area and decided to start a bank. While they have looked at providing other development services, they have decided to focus on what they are good at, financial empowerment. Because the banking regulations in India are very strict about growth, they have not had reached as many people as they would like. With the backing of a foreign investor though, they are poised to set up a non-banking financial company to expand their services to many more areas throughout Maharastha and the nearby state of Karnataka.

As I left Mhaswad, I thought about these three incredible women that I had met. It made me think of a recent book that I read called “Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell. The book's thesis is that people who we usually view as outliers (sports athletes, wealthy entrepreneurs, etc.) are not necessarily as unique as we make them out to be, but rather a product of the auspicious opportunities and extraordinary practice. These women however reminded me of the incredible power of the human spirit to overcome obstacles in the most dire of circumstances. They are inspirational figures not just for the people in their community but also for visitors like myself. Their successes make them outliers in spite of the situations they have encounter, rather than because of it.

My time at Seva Mandir has taught me many different things about India and development. But thanks to my exposure visit, I not only met some of the people who are benefiting from microfinance, but was completely inspired by their lives and stories. It was obviously a great time and I am incredibly grateful to Suzanne for not only putting up with me for the few days I was with her in Mhaswad but also for arranging the visits and moving her schedule around to host me. Thanks Suzanne!