CARE works in partnership with communities and local institutions to overcome poverty through micro-finance projects, business development services and market linkages.
Women and girls bear a disproportionately heavy share of the effects of poverty. Alongside restraints in their control over and access to resources are the deeper constraints arising from the perpetuation of beliefs regarding their subordinate role in society. CARE's community-based micro-finance work is a powerful catalyst for groups of women to expand their horizons beyond the initial focus on savings and credit. It is a path to empowerment that allows women to establish their own agenda for change.
Case in Point: Kalpana
"We are intoxicated by saving," says Madhuri Ghosh, chairwoman of the women's cooperative in Bangalpur, India. She has reason to be enthusiastic about the group's accomplishments. With training from the Indian government and CARE, women who scarcely left their own yards gained skills to start small businesses. By pooling their income, making loans and banking the interest, their endeavors have yielded nearly $400,000! What's more, it has changed how the women see themselves and their children. "There is no difference between a boy and girl," says co-op member Kalpana Pachal. She says her three daughters will "stand on their own feet."
