Empowering Women Through Self-Help Group
MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT IN COMMUNITIES
The Self-Help Group Approach (SHGA) is designed to empower individuals, particularly women, to break free from extreme poverty in a sustainable manner while strengthening their socio-economic and political standing in society. By fostering self-reliance and collective action, the approach aims to improve overall quality of life and create lasting change.
To achieve this, SHGA focuses on holistic empowerment—economically, socially, and politically—enabling individuals and communities to build their capacity, access opportunities, and drive their own development. This approach prioritizes the most marginalized populations, organizing them into People’s Institutions (PIs), which serve as foundational structures for community-driven progress.
People’s Institutions function as platforms for collective learning, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and advocacy. Through structured savings, credit access, skill-building, and leadership development, members gain the resources and confidence needed to participate fully in economic and social spheres. Additionally, PIs serve as a support network, fostering solidarity, shared responsibility, and resilience against economic and social shocks.
The ultimate goal of SHGA is to establish self-sustaining People’s Institutions that continue to grow and evolve beyond the duration of external support. By embedding principles of sustainability, governance, and local ownership, the approach ensures long-term impact, strengthening the foundation for inclusive development and poverty alleviation.
The Self-Help Group Approach (SHGA) is built on two fundamental principles:
Unlocking Human Potential – Every individual possesses immense, God-given potential. When provided with the right environment, even the most marginalized individuals can unlock their capabilities, develop their skills, and take charge of their own progress. SHGA creates a supportive ecosystem that nurtures this hidden potential, enabling individuals to break free from the cycle of poverty and achieve self-sufficiency.
Collective Strength and Empowerment – Poverty often renders individuals voiceless, powerless, and vulnerable. However, when they come together as a homogeneous collective, they develop a shared identity, gain awareness of their rights, and amplify their collective voice. Through collaboration, mutual support, and collective decision-making, group members strengthen their resilience, enhance their problem-solving capacity, and create meaningful change in their lives and communities.
By embracing these principles, SHGA fosters an inclusive and empowering framework that transforms lives, promotes self-reliance, and builds strong, sustainable community institutions.
Formation Of Self-Help Groups
The self-help group approach seeks to bring women from similar socio-economic backgrounds together to form savings groups known as self-help groups. The approach operates within rural communities of the country with the aim to uplift rural households out of poverty, through economic empowerment, using social capital and utilizing the power in numbers of the shg members. A self-help group consists of 15 – 20 women who meet and save weekly according to their affordability. From the total accumulated savings of the group, members apply for loans which only receive an interest agreed upon by the group. Each SHG operates as an independent entity with its own rules and regulations set by its members.
