Solidarity Will Transform the World

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• Introduction
• Download a Study Guide Companion for the Book
• Chapter 1: Building Hope and Solidarity on the U.S./Mexico Border
• Chapter 2: Fighting HIV/AIDS in Zambia
• Chapter 3: Organizing Self-Help Groups in India
• Chapter 4: Peacebuilding in Rwanda
• Chapter 5: Coffee Farming in Nicaragua

A New Awakening: Organizing Self-Help Groups in India

Before I visited CRS-India, I thought I that understood microfinance. But when I asked Sharmila and hundreds of other self-help group members, "How is your life different now because of your participation in the groups?" they did not respond, "I was hungry, and now I am satisfied." They replied, "My husband has stopped beating me. He is no longer drunk all of the time. The men in this village now treat the women as partners." I pressed them, "Surely, you have food and medical care that you once lacked!" and they responded, without exception, "Oh yes, we have those things, but what has changed most is how the men treat the women in this village."

Meet women from the third chapter of Solidarity Will Transform the World — "A New Awakening: Organizing Self-Help Groups in India." Their participation in these CRS-sponsored groups brought about their rise from dollar-a-day poverty and a "new awakening" of capabilities in education, disaster preparedness, public health, and politics.

The Mothers of the World Song

Listen to the CRS self-help group song that closes Chapter 3:

We are the mothers of the world.
We bring light to our families.
We bring light to the world.
(repeat seven times)