Enrolling more people..

 Two days back we had our second session. 

This time around we didn't plan the script neither did we plan minute-by-minute agenda. While we knew what we wanted to achieve at the end of the session, we wanted to have a relaxed, agenda-less conversation with both of them. 

One of them was from last time and the other one was new. We knew Sunita maushi from last time well, therefore we could move ahead with her and have a more fruitful conversation with her. Manoj Bhaiyya spoke to her regarding why it is important for her to not be financially dependent on her children in the future. For this, we encouraged her to open her own recurring deposit (RD). In that, she will deposit a small amount of money each month (the amount will be decided with her, and her husband). They will also gain some money from interest from that amount. 

I had already one round of chat with the other maushi - Indu maushi, previously and knew a bit about her. I decided to call her in today's session because it would also help us in reaching out to more people. She has a fairly high income, however, she too was not literate. A challenge with her is also a lack of a learning mindset. She wasn't willing to dedicate even the bare minimum of an hour per week in order to learn reading and writing. Even getting her to listen was a challenge. When we suggested the idea of an RD, she thought it was way out of her financial condition, despite earning much more than the other maushi. 

The session left me with mixed feelings. I felt very demotivated due to lack of enthusiasm shown by Indu maushi even when I am excited to teach her. So I decided to speak to the home-owners whom they work at. I went to visit them, discussed with the ladies, explained them the vision of my project and requested them to speak to their respective domestic help. I was very happy to see they getting enrolled at the end of it. They were hugely convinced that literacy in general and financial literacy in particular is extremely important and they were willing to help me. 

I intend to find volunteers and start literacy classes in next 10 days. I have found all the required study material, the place is not a limitation. All I need is willing excited bunch of students. Amen !!


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