Empowering of our women empowerment project

About the Organization:
Under the guidance of Sanjeevani Kelkar, women came together and started an organization, and a movement called 'Mata Balak Utkarsh Pratishthan' for the development of women and their families in Sangola taluka of Solapur district.

The 'Mata Balak Utkarsh Pratishthan' is a movement for the development of women and their families by bringing women together for the transformation of the rural society in the drought-stricken Sangola taluka. The organization has been carrying out water conservation works in rural areas since 2005 for drought relief. Sangewadi, Watambare, Gardi villages in Sangola taluka have become waterlogged due to various activities like dams, deepening of streams, and tree planting. The total number of beneficiaries in the last 43 years of the organization's journey is more than fifty thousand. The organization runs 100 women's self-help groups in 24 villages of Sangola taluka. Through these self-help groups, efforts are made to provide credit to women through various skill-based training.

Issue:
In 1973, Dr. Sanjeevani Kelkar came to Sangola in the Solapur district from Pune after her marriage. She had an MBBS degree then, but she did not know much about the plight of people in rural areas. There was no female doctor in Sangola taluka, hence, women couldn't consult male doctors, until Dr. Kelkar started her practice in this district.

Gradually, the women of the taluka became aware of their diseases post proper diagnosis. Dr. Kelkar's relationship with the medical profession began to change with the women in rural areas. With an open-minded approach, the doctors began to notice that the women who visited the hospital faced domestic issues. Therefore, in addition to healing from physical illness, these women needed mental support as well.

Dr. Kelkar narrated such vulnerable stories that a helpless mother, who had to sell the remaining two kilos of sorghum at home to take her HB-deficient daughter to the hospital. At the same time, Keshar Dudhwali, a victim of her husband's skeptical nature, left her home at night to sleep in order to survive. Kelkar took a closer look. Actions were taken looking at the terrible situation these women were in.

he NGO "Mata Balak Utkarsh Pratishthan" has no government grant. The organization is run with the help of generous people in the community and some organizations. Sakal Media Group's "Social for Action" digital crowdfunding platform will provide information on the activities of "Mata Balak Utkarsh Pratishthan". Generous individuals in the community, information technology companies, CSR companies and foreign-Indian citizens can visit the website https://socialforaction.com/ and learn about the initiatives run under the organization "Mata Balak Utkarsh Pratishthan" by clicking on the Donate Now button directly on the website. Each donor who donates through this crowdfunding will get a donation receipt and a certificate of 80G with a 50% discount in income tax.

Action:
Utkarsh Vidyalaya is run by the organization to provide quality education to students in rural areas. The fifth to tenth grades in the school do not get government grants. In addition, 25 percent of the students in the school are from the surrounding villages and are from low-income groups. As a result, students cannot pay tuition fees. A large amount of funds is required for teachers' honorarium and school materials. The organization also runs "Skill Development Centers" for women empowerment and financial independence in rural areas. Under this Skill Development Center, various skill-oriented and employment-oriented training courses are conducted for women in rural areas. These include Fashion Designing, Tally ERP, Computer Training, Beautician Training, English Conversational Arts, Singing-Playing Classical Music, Mehndi Training, Cloth Bag Training, Spice Making, Goat Breeding Training, Snack & Food (Diwali Faral) Preparation, Jam - Courses include jelly making, sky lantern making, and rakhi making. As women in rural areas have been trained in such employment-oriented courses, women have become financially self-sufficient by running their own businesses. So far, the institute has trained nearly 4,000 women in rural areas, of which at least 2,000 have started their own businesses. The organization wants to train more women in various vocational training under the "Skill Development Center". It costs a lot of material resources and other things and this organization needs the collective help of all of us to accomplish this task.

Project Location(s):
24 villages of Sangola Tahsil