Providing financil support for easy access to water and toilet facilities would reduce the health hazards and thereby improve the economic status. This opted me to be a changemaker.
Financial services for the downtrodden
Improve the social development through hygiene behaviour among the community by providing financial assistance for the infrastructure creations on water and sanitation
In Indian scenario, several micro credit institutions, micro finance institutions, money lenders are in the field of micro credit operations among the poor both in rural and urban for several livelihood promotion activities such as petty shops, vegetable vending, handicrafts works, purchase of milch animals, agricultural activities, personal consumptions etc., with higher rate of interest which could not be affordable to the living poor. The people who had transacted with these institutions were become poorer than the earlier status and some of these communities had disappeared from the vicinity due to heavy debts with accumulated interests. While these institutions are engaged in micro finance to the poor for the aforesaid activities, no institution in India came forward for lending operations for drinking water connections and house hold toilets for the poor community. As their investment was under safety and guaranteed return based on their engagements in various petty trades, cent percent recovery could be ensured with different strategies adopted. But, lending credit for the creation of infrastructures on water and sanitation among the urban slum dwellers and rural poor are seems to be impractical and none can take risk on these.
Gramalaya, an NGO, who had lending operations for water and sanitation in rural in several villages for more than 5 years under revolving fund supported by Water Partners Internationals, USA, and one year in urban slums of Tiruchirappalli City Corporation, have gained experience and confidence on prompt repayment from the beneficiaries under water credit. In rural, about Rs.45 lakhs are revolved for creating individual water connections and toilets. Similarly, in urban, a sum of Rs.44.71 lakhs are revolved for individual WATSAN facilities to 498 members. WaterPartners International had also supported with Institutional Development Services to the core staff of Gramalaya through BASIX, Hyderabad, an MFI engaged in micro credit operations and shared its experiences in lending processes through various workshops, orientation trainings and exposure visits to field areas where they successfully carried out lending business. This would make it interest to start MFI for water credit especially for rural and urban poor and GUARDIAN MFI was established.
For the creation of individual water connections and household toilets, Guardian has provided loan to 3016 members from 394 women self help groups / joint liability groups to the tune of Rs.2,04,09,000 (Rupees two crores, four lakhs and nine thousands only) in three blocks of Tiruchirapalli District namely Thottiam, T.Pet and Thuraiyur and Trichirapalli City Corporation, from the loan mobilized through nationalized bank, within 6 months of its establishment. Guardian has planned to reach 75,000 borrowers in the next 5 years with an estimated turn over of Rs. 40 crores in Tamilnadu.
