Self Help Group Research Paper

Stage - 1 (Grading of SHG):- After the initial formation stage which lasts for 6 months, it is necessary to test whether it has evolved into a good group or not. This helps to understand and eliminate the weak points of the group and to overcome deficiencies. Members also evaluate their own performance through a participatory approach which is a practical way of doing things for a long run success.
Stage - 2 (Capacity Building of SHG):- Stage two is a toddler period for the group. It is a crucial capacity building stage which enables groups to be a part of the rotating fund system, which eventually become a part of corpus fund of the group. Thus the external fund received enhances the group capacity enabling them to extend loans to the maximum.

While each Self- help group may have distinct characteristics, the so called laid down philosophies of this movement commensurate with various other ways of working. With the establishment of Community Development discipline in the last legs of 1980 the concept of sharing empowerment came into being. The mushrooming of self-help movement has gained momentum over the last two decades. Alcoholics Anonymous is the largest self-help group on record with over one million members in the US. A wild estimate puts the figure of people in self-help support groups at 20 million globally. They talk about anonymous groups of addicts, alcoholics, gamblers, debtors, families- of the Mentally Ill, Mothers of Twins Clubs; physically challenged groups, AIDS affected people, Tourette Syndrome Association, emotionally disturbed, bereavement clubs, The Compassionate Friends, Suicide Survivors , Widow to Widow; and groups even for lifestyles--Single Mothers by Choice and Society for the Second Self (cross

However, sometimes these volunteers may earn some income from this activity. So many times banks are known to have used individual commission agents to improve the outreach of banking services. A few of these have used this opportunity to promote groups to facilitate their own work, particularly in urban areas. Savings collection agents working for Indian Bankand for Bank of Baroda, for instance, have promoted large numbers of informal savings groups and hence the concept of individual group promoters is not a new