In our lives whenever there is a financial emergency we have the privilege of access to a whole gamut of banking and financial services. We could walk into a bank avail a loan , use our credit cards. But there is a vast majority in our country who don’t even have access to a bank account.

That is where ‘Microcredit’ comes into play. Microcredit refers to providing small loans to low income households – mostly to start a micro-enterprise like livestock rearing, tailoring, grocery store etc. These income generating activities enable poor households to become self-reliant and get out of the vicious circle of poverty.

One can simply register on rangde.org to become a social investor. Choose borrowers to make a social investment of as little as Rs. 100. At the end of the repayment schedule, the investor receives a 2% interest on the investment.

Here’s an interview with Smita Ram, Co-Founder & COO , Rang De:

What was the whole idea behind starting Rang De?

The idea behind starting Rang De was to create a sustainable initiative that will address a problem at its roots. Prior to starting Rang De, we were dabbling with several ideas relating to child labor, domestic help, media etc.

But soon we realized that most of these problems had poverty as its root cause and unless we address poverty, the rest will continue to exist. While we were researching these problems, Mr. Mohammed Yunus won the Nobel Prize in December 2006. That’s how we were introduced to the concept of micro-credit. Something that intrigued us was the interest rates that the borrower paid and how little people like us knew about the concept.

Thus Rang De was born as an initiative that facilitates small loans (micro-credit) for Indians that do not have access to credit. You can lend from Rs. 100 onwards on www.rangde.org to entrepreneurs identified by our partners across India. Join us to make poverty history in India!

What kind of hurdles you had to face during setting up the organization?

There were plenty of challenges right from registering the entity, to attracting talent to getting funds. We continue to face similar and other challenges but that is what makes working for Rang De enjoyable.

Rang De has a fabulous repayment rate, how do you guys achieve that?

We follow a model that is similar to the one propagated by Mr. Mohammed Yunus. We lend money usually to individuals in groups.The group could be a self help group or a joint liability group. In both cases, the group members vet each other and the group leader signs as a guarantor. The group also agrees to pitching in with the repayments if one of them fails to repay. This is the main reason for the repayment rate. Apart from this, we have a criteria for the selection of the borrowers which our field partners follow.

What has been the response of the social investors?

Our social investor base is growing slowly but steadily. We have a little more than 1000 social investors and in some sense, we are a close-knit community. Those who invested their money first have also now begun to invest their time to make Rang De more efficient.

In how many states does the organization have its presence?

We currently have a presence in 10 states – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,West Bengal.

Although the impact is quite evident, could you tell us some anecdotes of the social impact of Rang De, on individuals and the community in general?

Women entrepreneurs we are reaching out to in Orissa are getting access to loans for the first time. Their loan size is as small as Rs.1000. They are able to borrow money for the first time because it is affordable.

Any plans of making it a for-profit organization?

No. We do not plan to make it a for-profit organization.

How do you plan to take it forward? Where do you see it 5 years down the line?

We would like to be able to reach out to people across all states in India and go deeper into the territories where we have started to work. We would also like to provide a wide range of social investing options to the investors and make social investing a norm.

The Better India team wishes Rang De all the best of their mission to create a macro impact through micro credit.

Contact Details
Do visit www.rangde.org for more info
Twitter: http://twitter.com/rangde
Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/127485?m=96aaaf39/

Sittilingi is a remote village in Dharmapuri district, 125 km away from Salem town in Tamil Nadu, which used to be a god forsaken land caught under the spell of quacks and black magic. Noisy drums and fake injections were all they had to cure illnesses. This is when Dr. Regi and Dr. Lalitha took the plunge. This doctor couple went ahead to provide medical services to the tribals of Sittilingi, leaving their promising careers in the cities.

The couple found their calling in service to the underprivileged and wanted to use their knowledge where it was needed the most. Their hunt for the right place to offer their service ended at Sittilingi, a totally neglected and ignored tribal village. They ventured into the village, faced tough resistances and now they have emerged successful in establishing a full-fledged medical center for the tribals. A service beyond praises! 

Regi and Lalitha called their service the Tribal Health Initiative (THI). Their perseverance and continued service has brought about dramatic change in the living conditions of the natives. Infant mortality rate in Sittilingi has reduced to 20/1000 and there are no mothers dying in childbirth for the past 5 years. The nutrition levels of children and the general well being of the people have improved to a great extent.

Another striking fact about the Sittilingi initiative is that the girls who serve as nurses at the medical center are personally trained by Regi and Lalitha. When Regi and Lalitha saw that it was extremely difficult to get nurses to work at this tribal village, they decided to go choose smart and trainable girls from the village. This became such a wonderful uplift to the self esteem of the girls that they are extremely proud to be part of this initiative and to serve their community.

THI’s approach to medical care went one step ahead in educating the people and ‘helping the tribals help themselves’. They wanted to create a general understanding about health and health issues and make the natives acquainted with basic first aid. Today, over 21 neighbouring villages are benefiting from the Tribal Health Initiative that sprung at Sittilingi.  

And, the couple didn’t stop with medical facilities. They organize educational programmes, cultural activities and community development initiatives. There is a library facility that is available for children who also get to listen to motivating stories from a community worker every month.  Truly commendable, right?

It is very heartening to know about the selfless and committed service of Regi and Lalitha and many others who are supporting them. You can visit them at Sittilingi and get to know their service better. We also encourage you to support the initiative by contributing to the cause. Visit http://www.tribalhealth.org/

Krishnammal Sankaralingam

They are two old people from a small settlement in Tamil Nadu called Nagapattinam. And this year, the Sarvodaya couple – Krishnammal and Sankaralingam Jaganathan, will be honoured with prestigious Right Livelihood Award – also known as the Alternative Nobel.

The couple had started Land for the Tiller’s Freedom (LAFTI) in 1981, a non-profit organization based on the Gandhian idea of equitable land distribution as a basis for rural economic development. It has its roots in the Bhoodan movement created by Acharya Vinoba Bhave, who advocated the Village Community ownership of land – a non-violent land revolution encouraging landowners to voluntarily submit their lands for community ownership. The Bhoodan and LAFTI movements have been instrumental in distributing 11,000 acres of land to 11,000 landless poor families for agriculture. LAFTI has also negotiated with government for land subsidies and with banks for reduced interest rates on loans for purchase of land. Read more about the organization here.

Rajaneesh Vilakudy has reported about the latest honour in Rediff News:

Talking exclusively to rediff.com from Kuthur, a tiny hamlet in Tamil Nadu, where the old couple reside, Krishnammal said, “We are happy. Our initiatives are being rewarded. It is a big award, but Padma Shree is bigger. It is an honor by the Indian Government, which we savour for our lifetime.”

Describing them as India’s Soul, the Right to Livelihood Award panel said the feat was “for two long lifetimes of work dedicated to realising in practice the Gandhian vision of social justice and sustainable human development”.

The duo had been awarded with the Padma Shree in 1989. Sankaralingam is 95 years old, and has been involved in many struggles including the one for independence.

Two lifetimes dedicated to fighting for causes and seeing results. We can imagine how difficult and satisfying that must be, and offer our heartiest congratulations to the couple who have heralded sunrise in so many lives.

Link Courtesy: Bharath Madhavan. Thanks!

Image Courtesy: Right Livelihood Award Website

The Irulas are one of the lowest groups in the Hindu social order, found in Tamil Nadu. Many of them work as rat catchers in the farms of others, who pay them a small sum for each rat they catch. This being the chief occupation, the Irulas live in abject poverty.

Jerilyn Watson writes about this tribe and their ways of catching rats in this article:

The traditional way they catch rats is to light a fire in a clay pot. They blow air through a small hole in the bottom to send smoke into the underground spaces where rats live.

Then, for food, the catchers dig out the rats and any grain stored in their burrows. But often the rats escape, and the rat catchers get burned on their lips and hands. Many also suffer lung and heart disease from breathing the smoke.

Sethu Sethunarayanan, the director for the Development of Disadvantaged people in Chennai looked for a way to improve this technique, and dvised a new steel trap.

With the new trap, the rat catcher still forces smoke into the burrow. But the trap is attached to an air pump operated by hand. The catcher no longer needs to blow into the trap. And the pump has a wooden handle to prevent burns to the hands.

The Irulas asked for and received almost one hundred thousand dollars from the World Bank. They used the money to establish a factory to build the traps. It employs fifty women. The traps are sold for about twenty-five dollars each.

This small contraption has led to a dramatic improvement in the lives of the nearly three million Irulas. They’re earning more money, getting better health care, and more importantly, their children can now go to school instead of catching rats.

Scavenger women from Rajasthan participating in fashion show in New York

A group of scavenger women from a town in Rajasthan called Alwar sashaying down the ramp with leading supermodels in New York? Thirty seven women who, a few years ago earned their living by cleaning dry latrines and carrying night soil in containers on their head, now attending events and speaking at the United Nations headquarters? Unbelievable??

This has been made possible by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak and his organization Sulabh International Social Service Organization. He decided to liberate these women of their stigma and train them in vocations like food processing, tailoring, embroidery and beauty treatments. Thus was born the programme called Nai Dishayein (New Directions) in 2003. Now these women can walk with their head held high and hold conversations with heads of state without feeling any inferiority due to birth and circumstances. Read more about the remarkable story of Dr. Pathak and the success of his initiative in the Women’s Feature Service article available in an interesting Nepal publication called Gorkhapatra here.

Also, you can find more about Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak and the work his NGO Sulabh International has done to deal with issues like hygiene and sanitation, among others by visiting their website: http://www.sulabhinternational.org/