Consultation Meet On Self-Help Groups: Challenges, Impact And Sustainability

A Workshop on Challenges, Impact and Sustainability of Self-help Groups was held at KROSS Resource Centre, Bengaluru on 27th February, 2018 which was attended by the Diocesan Social Work Directors from Karnataka. The Meet began with a prayer led by Rev. Fr. Richard Pais, Director, SMSSS, Shivamogga.

Rev. Fr. Sebastian Fernandes, Director, KROSS welcomed the Rev. Fr. Faustine Lobo, National Director, PMO, Bengaluru who facilitated the Meet, all the Diocesan Social Work Directors and the KROSS Staff.

Rev. Fr. Faustine Lobo said that we had begun our social apostolate with a Welfare or Relief Approach as it was then thought that if we provide for the have nots, that is development. The Donors started to have a different view as there was no development at all as the aid provided went only for feeding the families of the poor. Around 1985 it was felt that self-help was the best approach for development as the poor too had resources like man power, knowledge, experience, skills, talents but unfortunately lacked opportunities.

With the formation of Self-help groups steady development happened and now it is time not to forgo them but to empower them further by capacitating them which leads to wider dissemination of knowledge.

It was unanimously agreed that the self-help groups should be capacitate to form federations right from the grassroots to the state level if we are to see development and sustainability of the self-help groups in future.

The Meet ended with a vote of thanks by Rev. Fr. Binoy, Asst. Director, DKRDS, Belthangady.