Madhulika Ramteke’s Maa Bamleshwari Bank: Empowering Women, Changing Lives Madhulika Ramteke has created a movement in the villages of Chhattisgarh, as women
follow her lead and lead their community to a new level. This is her Maa Bamleshwari Bank which was initiated in 2001 and has 5372 branches with 80,000 women engaged. This is a bank that is run by women and it has aided women in the rural settings to save funds and acquire loans and start better lives. The Nari Shakti Puraskar that involves the empowerment of women was conferred on Madhulika in 2021. Her story discloses how the dreams of one woman can change thousands of lives.
A Bank for Women
The situation of Madhulika is humble because she was born in a poor and illiterate family in Rajnandgaon practicing caste discrimination. Nevertheless, through all that, she worked hard and aspired to contribute to others. She began a self-help group (SHG) by uniting with other women in 2001: her savings were mixed with those of other women to found the Maa Bamleshwari Bank. It is an all-woman bank which takes out small loans on items such as healthcare, bicycles or business start-ups. Currently, it has opened 5372 branches in Chhattisgarh and is able to provide bank services to 80,000 women, making them financially independent. This has an immense effect of 40 crore in the total savings of the bank.
Building Stronger Communities
Maa Bamleshwari Bank, does not just give money. It also unites women together to support each other. Women in the SHGs are not only themselves, they also meet, save and even decide those who take up the loans thus they are in-charge of their villages. In 2016, Madhulika also initiated three societies: one on milk-farming, one on ayurvedic-herbs- farming and one on the production of ice-cream using sugar-apples. With these businesses, women have new earning opportunities such as selling milk or herbs. To cite an instance, women such as Rekha who borrowed money and purchased a cow are already making money by selling milk. This activity assists the families to afford school fees, food and medical care.
Way towards Change
Madhulika does not just work in the bank. Maa Bamleshwari Janhit Karya Samiti through which she combats social ills such as child marriage and alcohol, has shut down more than 250 liquor stores in Chhattisgarh. She educates the villagers on how to prepare vermicompost which is a natural fertilizer, health and cleanliness. In 2018, she succeeded in constructing the toilets in 65 villages. She believes women too should be a part of the Swachhata Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) and Jal Suraj Abhiyan (Water ConservationMission). Her contributions in fighting female foeticide made her gain the brand ambassador status on behalf of the Rajasthan government. Leadership by Madhulika puts women in good voice.
Towards Bright Future
The Maa Bamleshwari Bank is a depiction on what women are capable of when a window of opportunity is opened. Madhulika was motivated by the thoughts of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and converted his disappointments into power. Her bank helps 80,000 women save, generate income and dream big. Women currently own businesses, school their children and run their communities. President Ram Nath Kovind awarded Madhulika the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2021 for her life-transformational works. Her bank is still expanding by 2025, and it is aiming to have an even greater impact on the population involved in the disaster. Body: The story of Madhulika confirms the hopes that with unity and some hard labor one can create a better future of all women
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