For both the Philippines and India, the silent revolution in the rural areas, of women helping in the community development efforts, is spreading its wings slowly but surely.
India and the Philippines have many things in common-the fight against hunger and poverty, uneducation and illiteracy, restlessness of the people and terrorism.
There is one similarity however, which is not readily identified - both have kind and rich-hearted women who in the Philippines have found empowerment; while those in India, have found new prosperity mantra, helping their fellow women and in so doing, their countrymen.
Unknown and unnoticed (if not deliberately ignored) by some sectors, both women rose from the bondage of poverty and are now enjoining and inspiring other people to follow suit.
In Hyderabad in the southern part of India, there is Pakiramna, a former scavenger; Mahammadbi who is wife of a former bonded laborer; Rameswarame, a fruit vendor who along with twelve other women have been invited by the government to teach rural women of the State ;how to believe in themselves and to leave behind poverty.
Coming from several tiny villages in the Kurnool district, these women will travel to the other districts in Decemberto motivate women there to make the government's Livelihood Promotion Project, a success.
These women who are called Community Resource Persons, the women have been given the mandate to study the conditions of the poor, conduct a survey to identify the poorest of the poor, form them into self-help groups and finally teach the mantra of Orvakal that enabled them to banish poverty through self-help.
For the past ten years, these group of women save every rupee everyday, from their earnings. Small groups of women then pooled their savings and set up a bank from which they lend money for purchasing land, small business and other self-employment activities. The rest is history.
In the Philippines, these stories are replicated everyday. What is reassuring is that these Indian women just like their countless Filipino counterparts, have taught women lessons of their fight against poverty through teamwork.
Unhesitatingly, these two groups of women from the two different countries of the world, will tell their inspiring success stories and narrate to the people how to pool in their resources because what they cannot do alone, they can do if they will as a team act with one vision and one mission.
India and the Philippines have many things in common-the fight against hunger and poverty, uneducation and illiteracy, restlessness of the people and terrorism.
There is one similarity however, which is not readily identified - both have kind and rich-hearted women who in the Philippines have found empowerment; while those in India, have found new prosperity mantra, helping their fellow women and in so doing, their countrymen.
Unknown and unnoticed (if not deliberately ignored) by some sectors, both women rose from the bondage of poverty and are now enjoining and inspiring other people to follow suit.
In Hyderabad in the southern part of India, there is Pakiramna, a former scavenger; Mahammadbi who is wife of a former bonded laborer; Rameswarame, a fruit vendor who along with twelve other women have been invited by the government to teach rural women of the State ;how to believe in themselves and to leave behind poverty.
Coming from several tiny villages in the Kurnool district, these women will travel to the other districts in Decemberto motivate women there to make the government's Livelihood Promotion Project, a success.
These women who are called Community Resource Persons, the women have been given the mandate to study the conditions of the poor, conduct a survey to identify the poorest of the poor, form them into self-help groups and finally teach the mantra of Orvakal that enabled them to banish poverty through self-help.
For the past ten years, these group of women save every rupee everyday, from their earnings. Small groups of women then pooled their savings and set up a bank from which they lend money for purchasing land, small business and other self-employment activities. The rest is history.
In the Philippines, these stories are replicated everyday. What is reassuring is that these Indian women just like their countless Filipino counterparts, have taught women lessons of their fight against poverty through teamwork.
Unhesitatingly, these two groups of women from the two different countries of the world, will tell their inspiring success stories and narrate to the people how to pool in their resources because what they cannot do alone, they can do if they will as a team act with one vision and one mission.
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