Impur, August 19 (MExN): While many might see of the church as a body concentrating on the bible and the pulpit and (sometimes prohibition issues), but the Women Department of the Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang (ABAM) has been going a step farther when it comes to looking after the well being of the women in the society. Since the year 2006, the Women Department ABAM has been working for the economic empowerment of the women in the society; and so far under the active initiative of the ABAM-WD there are eighty Self Help Groups (SHGs) formed in different Ao villages is Mokokchung district.
Temsula Lemtur, Secretary for ABTM (Ao Baptist Women Conference), Impur while speaking with some local media-persons disclosed that the ABTM has taken the vision of “Wholistic Development” of women in the society has been working towards that end. She asserted that the ABTM endeavours the all-round development of the mind, body and the spirit of a person.
Asserting that if there is no “wholistic development”, Temsula Lemtur expressed her fear that the activities of the ABTM would be “one sided only” which would not bear much results, be it in spiritual or other aspects. Towards this end, the ABTM, Temsula Lemtur disclosed, has been taking loan from a financial institution in Shillong – Society for Micro Development Activities – and has been distributing the money to the different SHGs. Each SHG has ten members and each member was given a one-time-grant of Rs 2000, which they could invest in anyway they could.
Besides the logistical help, the ABTM also imparts vital lessons on banking, money management and other areas of operating an SHG. The ABTM members also visit the SHG from time to time and keep track of the progress of the SHG. “Now, women are more independent. Earlier they were dependent on their husband, but now we see that they are more self sufficient. We see young mothers as presidents of the SHG, general secretary…now they have better knowledge about financial management…”said Temsula Lemtur.
This endeavour of the ABTM towards women empowerment is not a new one. The ABTM has been running a Vocational Training cum Production Centre at the Impur Mission centre for the last twenty seven years, training many women and girls, and sending the finished products to different areas for sale. The ABTM has also been giving trainings on cooking, tailoring, knitting etc to dropout school girls so that they can earn a living out of their skills. The latest initiative of the ABTM was the initiation of a Special Handloom Expo underway at Impur Mission from August 16. The Expo was organized by the Department of Industries & Commerce and sponsored by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Altogether 26 SHGs are participating in the Expo. Various handmade products are being sold at the Expo. The Expo will conclude on August 28.
