Success Stories
Literacy and Micro Credit Banking Initiatives with MSSRF
Jeyalakshmi, 26 years old, belongs to a scheduled caste community. Her primary livelihood is agricultural labour doing weeding during agricultural season and civil works for building construction during lean season; she has done this since an early age. Through this she earns about Rs.30 to Rs. 50 per day (90 – 150 Yen) depending upon the type of work. Her husband is also an agricultural laborer and illiterate like her. They have two children.
As an illiterate, she faced the following problems:
• She didn’t venture far and felt helpless when she had to go to town or hospital
• She could not read the details given in the ration card
• She could not assist her children in their studies
• She paid shopkeepers whatever they asked for as she did not have the skill to purchase by calculating the price and budget the expenses
• She could not sign and had to use her thumb impression as signature
• She was not able to express herself or have the confidence to speak to strangers
• She could not read her husband’s letters which he wrote when he was away working as a seasonal migrant to Kerala
Using the facilities provided by the VRCs/VKCs, a computer-based, learner-specific program was prepared by MSSRF with the support of animators to help Jeyalakshmi read, relate the objects directly with alphabets and remember them without much difficulty. After a few months training, Jayalakshmi’s skills and confidence improved in many ways:
• Her mobility has increased; she is now able to go to hospital and market in the
nearby town on her own
• Her decision-making capacity has become better
• Her relationship with her husband has improved
• She is able to monitor her children’s studies on a day-to-day basis and her husband
appreciates her efforts; her children are also benefiting
• She is able to spend the money/income through proper planning and budgeting; she
even manages to save a little amount
