Page 217 - SocialHarmony

Poor Welfare Fair: Service to Humanity 221

child’s milk, the people of Gujarat will be healthier tomorrow.
The government is ready to do everything for you in this poor
welfare fair, but I want something in return too. This Chief
Minister demands that when you leave from this poor welfare
fair, you must give me a promise, that is, you have given your
addiction to the Chief Minister. If you do this, you will be sure
that your family will rise above poverty, and I will be responsible
for it. I am begging you for this so that you can become
emancipated from poverty in order to lead a happy life;
therefore, I have come to beg of you of an addiction.

If there is an obstacle in fighting against poverty, it is
nothing but debt. In order to show the family honour to the
neighbours and relatives, and to show off in the society, people
borrow money on high rates of interest, sometimes they
mortgage the mother’s and sister’s jewellery, even land, even
children; and then starts the vicious cycle by which they keep
paying the interest any how while the principal amount remains
where it was. Many lives are destroyed in this.

I have to free these poor families from the burden of this
debt. For this purpose, the State Government has started a
massive campaign. The Sakhi Mandals have been set up by
sisters in villages, and all sisters come together to contribute
money in them – one rupee, five rupees, ten rupees, fifty rupees,
hundred rupees and thus, they add upon a capital; they save
money and keep accounts themselves. Their savings are added
upon by the government many times over, and the bank helps
them get this amount. Gradually, the Sakhi Mandals have started
to undertake larger enterprises. Just now I handed over six lakh
rupees to one Sakhi Mandal and 1.25 lakh rupees to another. I
asked them what they would do of the money. They said that
they would give this money to the people at a little interest to
the needy after due verification in order to make them self-
dependent economically. This is a scheme to bring them out of
poverty.

This savings campaign is still on. There are over 1.25 lakh
Sakhi Mandals working in the whole state, they are in each tehsil
and district, and the government has assigned 400 crore rupees