Empowering women bears fruit

New Delhi: Three decades of tireless pursuit have borne fruit. Kulandei Francis, Director of the Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu-based NGO, Integrated Village Development Project (IVDP), has bagged the Ramon Magsaysay Award, considered the most prestigious in Asia.

The Magsaysay Foundation said that the award was being given to him for “his visionary zeal, his profound faith in community energies and his sustained programme in pursuing the holistic economic empowerment of thousands of women and their families in rural India”.

Hailing from a modest background, 66-year-old Francis says: “Having experienced poverty first-hand, I had the desire to transform the lives of people in the rural areas. Poverty is unacceptable to me and we should collectively work towards its eradication. It is time for the youth to come forward and help the poor communities.”

The grass roots activist, who registered IVDP in 1979, after training at an NGO in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, said, “More than anything, I believe in empowering women. Sadly, while the government introduces good schemes, most fail to reach the targeted people. There is lack of will to implement the schemes in the system for the benefit of the poor.

“The only way we can eradicate poverty is when people take it upon themselves and become self-sufficient. We cannot keep depending on the government for all our needs. The award makes me realise that I need to go on for the next many years.”

He speaks to Gulf News in an exclusive interview.

GULF NEWS: Is winning the Ramon Magsaysay Award a tribute to womanhood, especially your mother, who had sold her land to educate you?

KULANDEI FRANCIS: The award has come as a pleasant surprise to me. And no doubt it is because of thousands of women who have made the development schemes successful. Yes, it all began because of my mother’s faith in me and her benevolent assistance. Her concern about my education helped me to liberate the poor women from the clutches of the moneylenders. And we were able to empower them financially, which resulted in women sending their wards to good schools and colleges and educating them.

How did it all begin?

It was during the mid-1970s that I heard about acute poverty and starvation deaths in many rural areas. People were surviving by eating roots and whatever they could spot on the forest floor. The area would get rain, but the rainwater would run off, leaving the areas dry and parched. So, we began by focusing on agriculture and building small check-dams and bore wells to ensure water for crops in the arid rain-deficit terrain. Thirty years and several other development projects later, we now have over 300 small water-harvesting structures.

What was the main reason for empowering women rather than men in the rural belt?

Once we started getting good results, the need for credit was felt. I started Self Help Groups (SHGs) for men, but they did not show much interest in convening meetings for savings. When I arranged loans for the farmers, they would simply refuse to repay. It was then that I understood that women could be the real game changers. They are concerned about family development and we mooted SHGs through them. We organised women and cultivated in them the habit of small savings and things began to change. Women would save their income in the bank and the bank would directly provide them loans. It was amazing to see these women transforming their own lives with revenue-generating avenues.

Was it initially difficult to enrol women to become the agents of change?

Yes, in the beginning we faced many problems from their fathers and husbands, whose interference stifled the progress of SHGs. But we continued to explain and educate them on its long-lasting benefits. And after seeing the success of the women’s groups, men themselves began encouraging women to enrol in SHGs.

How many women’s groups are presently under IVDP and what work have they been involved in?

At present, we have 8,500 women SHGs. They do micro enterprise activities including agriculture, sheep rearing, floriculture, pickle making, vegetable and fruit vending and running tiffin centre. In addition, the members work towards creating awareness to eradicate the social evils of society such as early marriage, female infanticide, child labour and dowry.

They are also involved in three major health components — safe drinking water, use of sanitary napkins and construction of individual household toilets. It is a remarkable achievement in SHG members as 90 per cent use sanitary napkins, 60 per cent use safe drinking water and 50 per cent have constructed toilets in their homes.

What aspects of IDVP would you want people to emulate?

I would want other villages to ensure that socially, economically and culturally, women are empowered and take leading role in the family. It will be a great favour to our society if a woman stops being dependent on her father or husband and becomes self-reliant. I would like to see comprehensive development among them and their families.

In all these years, were there moments when you felt your efforts were going astray?

It happened several times! And I really wanted to give it all up. It would generally be either because of financial problems or non-co-operation from people. But what kept me going was the dedication of some very enthusiastic women who were involved in development work for the sake of their families.

BOX

• Kulandei Francis was born on March 29, 1946 to Mathalai Mary and Kulandei in Karipatti village, Salem district, Tamil Nadu.

• His father being a lineman in the Indian Railways, Francis’s schooling happened in several states.

• He completed high school from Little Flower School in Salem.

• He graduated from Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu.

• Completed his graduation in Philosophy from Pontifical Athenadum Janana Deepa Vidhapeeth in Pune.

• He did a social development course from Coady International Institute in Canada.

• This was followed by a course on rural development in the Philippines.

• He has received several national and international awards.

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