Results are presented from a study on a microcredit program with self-help groups implemented for widowed and abandoned women in Tamil Nadu shortly after the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Data were collected from 109 participants measuring the women's investment patterns, loan amounts, demographics, and overall well-being (psychological, economic, communal, and familial). Results indicate that loan amounts and investment patterns were not significantly related to the women's well-being. Length of group participation and having children were negatively related to the women's well-being. These findings are discussed in relation to social and cultural contexts. Suggestions for programs for this population of vulnerable women and other marginalized groups are proposed.The devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 left thousands of people without housing or their livelihoods. The effort undertaken to provide relief revealed the inequalities that exist in Indian society; certain groups of people, based on caste, gender, or age, were excluded from receiving aid. A survey of women's rights violations in the aftermath of the tsunami confirms that women were more vulnerable than men during the disaster (Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development [APWLD], 2006). Their marginalized and disempowered status placed them at greater risk than men because financial and other forms of aid were not equitably distributed.The South Indian state of Tamil Nadu was among the regions severely affected by the tsunami because of its large coastal area and numerous fishing communities. Besides the loss of more than 8,000 lives, the livelihoods of most of the people in this area were affected because thousands of boats and fishing nets were destroyed. People who lived in the surrounding rural area were also affected by the tsunami. 12 Microcredit Self-Help Groups for Women in South India 13Because the saline water from the ocean flooded the land and made it unfit for farming, rural inhabitants could not work. Dalits ("untouchables" or outcastes) and people from scheduled castes, who provided labor to the fishermen through cleaning and selling fish, also lost their jobs.A needs assessment conducted by the local nongovernmental organization (NGO) Kalangarai 1 during the weeks after the tsunami revealed that there were 1,700 widowed or abandoned women in the rural or coastal areas of Tamil Nadu who were particularly at risk because of the lack of access to resources, their extreme level of poverty before the tsunami, and the discrimination they experienced in their communities. Kalangarai found that these women were not being supported by relief efforts and that they faced progressively worse economic conditions because of the loss of their livelihoods. In response, Kalangarai developed selfhelp groups for widowed or abandoned women throughout the area and provided financial assistance in the form of microcredit loans.The overall purpose of this study was to determine what impact the post-tsunami microcredit program implemented by Kalangarai had on ...
McAllister (2005) defined Well-being as “The absence of illness or pathology with subjective and objective dimensions” and states that Well-being can be measured at individual or societal level, accounting for the elements of life satisfaction that cannot be influenced by economic growth. Socio-Economic Status (SES) is defined as the hierarchy of social positions which describes a person’s social standing or class (Graetz, 1995) and gender refers to the array of socially constructed roles and relationships, personality traits, attitudes and behaviours that the society ascribes (Moser, 2003). The impact of Socio-Economic Status on Well-being studies the perception of the individual towards his/her Well-being in terms of their stand in the socio-economic strata of the society. There are no significant studies in this area of research correlating Socio-Economic Status, gender and Well-being of early adolescents and hence the study would be of importance. This research focuses on the measurement of the impact of Socio-Economic Status and gender on the Well-being of early adolescents, aged between 14-16 years. A purposive sample consisting of 200 adolescents (n=200), 100 boys and 100 girls from government and private schools in South India would be selected for the study. The Socio-Economic Status Scale (SESS) and the Personal Well-being Index- School Children (PWI-SC) will be used to measure Socio-Economic Status and Well-being respectively. The obtained data would be analysed using mean, t-test, and one-way ANOVA. The Socio-Economic Status is expected to affect the Well-being of children in terms of their personal as well as environmental conditions. The perception of Well-being is expected to be higher among girls than boys. The study will provide an insight of how the Socio-Economic Status of the family and gender will affect the perceived Well-being of the early adolescent. The study will serve as adequate data in understanding factors affecting Well-being and in devising ways of improving the basic needs of adolescents. It can help in the formulation of policies towards adolescents, in designing their educational curriculum, etc. It can also help in the designing of intervention for ‘at-risk’ adolescents.
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