Learning through Failures and Successes

Every failure provides opportunities for learning and growth and can be stepping stone for development professionals endeavouring to bring about a change in the field

W hat is more important, I would like to ask—our village and society or our selfinterest and because of it envy and conflict? If the answer is the latter, there is no more to say. However, if the answer is our village and society, I would like to ask why people do not come together and have a shared dream for the development of their village? Is it not possible to think of the well-being of others?

A village is made up of many hamlets (tolas) and many people live in a hamlet. Some of these hamlets have Self Help Groups (SHGs) but not everyone is part of these groups. Some people have chosen to be associated with SHGs but not to belong to them. Why is this so? Why do they only want a tentative connection with the SHGs of their areas? There are many such unanswered questions.

In Godda district, Jharkand, there is a village called Barmasiya in Poriyahat block; it has many small hamlets, including one called Pandit tola where all the potters live. The people of this hamlet have adopted another profession, leading to improved living standards. Two SHGs (Laxmi and Maa Kashi), promoted by PRADAN, function in this hamlet. I worked on a development scheme with these villagers.

Before my first meeting with the people, I was apprehensive about the dynamics of the group. But I found that the women discussed many topics, including some developmental schemes. I thought that if the group members themselves were so enthusiastic and wanted to implement some of the programmes, PRADAN could also think of promoting some development schemes through the Swarnajayanti gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) Special Project. Keeping this in my mind, I called for a meeting in the village in which some women, who were not members of the SHG, also participated. They expressed their desire to form a group for themselves. I was in favour of the idea and suggested that they form a new group. So the Maa Durga mahila Mandal was formed in Pandit tola.