PRIVATE INITIATIVE BRINGS PROSPERITY TO RURAL POOR Posted
date 1/20/2010 11:43:45 PM
biz.lk
The GRASSROOTS FOUNDATION, launched back in 2004 as a parliament
leadership group at rural level comprising a Multi political membership
for good governance and helping alleviate poverty as a social
responsibility project has been steadily sustained against formidable
challenges. Modeled along the lines of the Grameen micro-finance
development concept, this lower end rural empowerment livelihoods
project has brought hope and a new lease of life to over 500 homes in
deep rural areas which were wallowing beyond the poverty line. The
brainchild of philanthropist, Real Estate, Tourism and IT
communications entrepreneur Zarook Marikkar, the project funds have
come from his own coffers and from a few well-wishers. Micro-finance
loans of only Rs.5000 per family, after an in-depth screening process
to establish their bona fides, was all that was needed to set them back
on their feet by serving as a catalyst to stir up their desire to fight
back against poverty and apply their latent talents to churn out
profitable livelihood enterprises. That spirit to fight back has been
kept alive by the dedicated GRASSROOTS 'field force' comprising
men and women who through frequent journeys into these deep rural area
homesteads have provided counseling, motivation and training programs
which have resulted in a slow but steady growth of their little home
based handicrafts and agro industries.
The financial constraints have necessarily made it imperative to make
accurate character judgments to ensure that only those more likely to
honour their commitments would be given micro credit facilities.
Many of them now want more credit to lift up their projects to
the next level. A significant phenomenon in the whole exercise over the
past five years is that not one single family has failed to honour the
phased out repayment commitments. That alone serves to prove the
unqualified financial successes of these micro level; home based
enterprises. An aggregate of nearly Rs.15 million is being steadily
repaid by these worthy recipients of aid from GRASSROOTS, the mother
organization.
This rising demand on its resources led to the need to place on record
the success stories of this initiative in a bid to generate a
significantly tangible financial, material and technical contribution
response from the public. GRASSFUNDS needs a substantial response from
a caring public, at home and abroad, to enhance their ability to reach
more homes in the deep rural areas which are in the stranglehold of
abject poverty. The dire needs of Sri Lanka's marginalized deep rural
area populations cannot hold out much longer. Keen observers would have
noticed the scores of news items of suicides and violence which have
become commonplace in our vast deep rural communities.
It is with this objective of raising funds locally and globally to
expand the scope of GRASSROOTS and GRASSFUND’S contributions in the
sphere of social responsibility that the founder Mr.Zarook Marikkar
will be officially launching the GRASSFUND website [www.grassfund.org]
to spread global awareness of Sri Lanka's vast rural population's need
at grassroots level for sustainable micro-finance funding. The
website was set up by Dot Com Private Limited which is one of Sri
Lanka's top IT solution providers. The end of the ethnic armed struggle
and a return to normalcy has resulted in a slew of new applications for
micro-finance enterprise funding and GRASSFUNDS needs an immediate
donor response to build its financing capacity to help these needy
people. E-mail to a friend
