OREANDA-NEWS. June 21, 2011. It has been said that if we teach a man we teach an individual, if we teach a woman we teach the whole family. Taking the thought forward, Tata Power announced the commencement of various developmental programmes focused on women empowerment, health and development of infrastructure in Dherand and Shahapur villages.

Tata Power joined hands with Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal (MAVIN), a Government of Maharashtra undertaking (MAVIM) to form 10 new self-help groups (SHGs) and reactivated 33 existing SHGs. Tata Power and MAVIM jointly conducted meetings to assess the training needs of women in the village. Based on the feedback, a full-day training programme was organised in Pezari village school located at Pezari, Alibaug, Raigad. Around 98 SHG women members participated and were imparted specialised training on the concept, functions, responsibilities of SHG and on the importance of account keeping and documentation. The objective of the training was to faciliate efficient functioning of self-help groups, enable them to seek financial assistance from institutions / banks and equip them to start their own income generation activities. The training was conducted by senior officials of MAVIM.

Further, Tata Power in association with Stree Mukti Sanghatna (an NGO working in the field of women's rights and ragpickers) addressed a congregation of SHG representatives from Dherand and Shahapur, which witnessed participation from approximately 260 women, members of gram panchayat and dignitaries of the villages. The NGO performed its famous Marathi street play Mulgi Zali Hoo, which emphasised the problems faced by women in life and thus sensitise the audience on women's issues.

Alka Panwanghadkar, member, Stree Mukti Sanghatna, highlighted the need for hygienic environment and educated the participants on waste disposal techniques, which would help the villagers, create manure for agricultural purpose and recycle / reuse dry garbage. The importance of environment sustainability and role of each individual by way of tree plantation and conserving trees was emphasised.

The Raigad District Cooperative Bank representative explained the services exclusively offered by their bank to SHGs and assured to provide special services / assistance to women of Dherand and Shahapur for income generation.

Speaking on the initiatives, KS Thimmiah, head, project construction, western region projects, Tata Power, said, “We are delighted to receive a good response from women in the nearby villages. We would like to strengthen this activity by providing more income generations avenues and make this movement sustainable. We will continue our efforts towards womenfolk empowerment in the region.”