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Last year we came across a book "Vanchitone Vanotar" -
a translation of the Banker to the Poor. Shri Sanat Mehta is one
of our well wishers and a close friend who has inspired us to undertake
microcredit finance activities based on your ideology. We have introduced
your activities to so many like-minded friends and social workers
engaged in such or similar activities. We have also obtained 5 copies
of the English version of the Banker to the Poor. All of our well
wishers have expressed their great satisfaction and opined that
"Had Mahatma Gandhi been alive, he would not have hesitated
to praise your activities", being deeply concerned for the
poorest. After studying the activities of Shri Sanat Mehta at Baroda
and inspired by the book, we have started financing rural women
in a small way. We have formed "AMBA" or the Amber Ashriy
Mahila Benefit Association. Our Amber charkha women are the members
of this organization. They have started saving a Rupee per day and
our institution adds a rupee and the fund so collected is utilized
for giving small loans amongst them. We have approached the rural
women of different villages in our area and have already started
giving them the required finance for their household production
and sale activities.
In our country
today, things have started changing rapidly because of liberalisation
and globalization. Production and sales of our Indian goods have
suffered a lot because of the cut throat competition and low production
cost of the imported items. Still we find that there is a scope
at the village level to keep them engaged in production activities
on a small scale.
However, we
are worried for our spinners/weavers engaged in production and sales
of polyvastra of 67/33 cotton-polyester fibre combination. This
cloth has been accepted as Gramodyog Production and the activity
was going on smoothly until recently. But because of the liberalisation
and globalization, we have now started facing difficulties and we
are looking for some alternate arrangement for these spinners and
weavers.
We are convinced
that based on the ideology that you have established one can definitely
work for poor people without outside assistance. We congratulate
you and your colleagues for the success you all have achieved for
upliftment of the poor in Bangladesh. Your activity is an example
that others can follow.
Ratibhai
Gondhia
President
Young Men's Gandhian Association
"Hari OM" Jayant Society
Mavdi Plot Rajkot-360004, India
April 30, 2001.
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