A famous person once said “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” I feel cheerful today, at this moment because I just donated Rs. 1450/- to a needy person. And the best part is – it’s not a charity, it’s a loan!
Milaap (which means ‘connecting people’) is a mission driven organisation that provides a platform to connect the urban rich with the rural poor. Basically, it partner up with proven grass-root level organisations to identify deserving borrowers, the amount of financial assistance they need and the purpose.
In my case, the recipient, Shrabani Das, is a native of Bahara Village, in Birbhum district of West Bengal. She lives with her husband and is a mother of 3-year old kid. This young family’s survival is dependent upon a small tea-stall which is run by Shrabani herself. To expand her little business (to add more stocks such as snacks, biscuits, etc) and change the infrastructure, which will help attract more customers, she need a financial support of Rs. 15,000. The funds will be of great help to the mother who can earn a stable income and save some for her child’s future.
I was moved by her story and the passion to expand her small enterprise. Thus, I decided to help her by loaning a small figure of Rs. 1,450. Before my contributions, she had already raised 55% of the total funds, which is now a more encouraging, 65%. She still got a month time approximately to raise the total amount of her proposed expenditure. And I’m confident that she’ll get the funds before the deadline. The partner organisation, SREEJAN is the responsible for the project.
On completing the transaction, when the screen read “Thank you for making a difference! We’d like to thank you on behalf of Shrabani Das for your contribution of Rs.1,450.00. Your money is on its way to the recipients.”, I faint smile appeared on my face. It was a smile of satisfaction, of happiness, that you get when you do something for the greater good. Now, it’s your turn!
For further details, visit: http://milaap.org
akritik 