Mumbai, Aug 28 (PTI) Ramon Magsaysay award winner Nileema Mishra says she imbibed the drive and zeal for rural uplift because of her own experiences of facing poor infrastructure in her village in Jalgaon district. "I would have loved to read a lot other than the material taught in school and also longed for sporting activity. But, it was not possible in my village (due to lack of infrastructure)," she recalled during an interaction with Mantralaya and Vidhimandal Vartahar Sangh, a body of journalists, here today. After her post-graduation from University of Pune, she decided to dedicate herself to rural upliftment. Mishra, a lender to the poor, got the prestigious award last year for "her purpose-driven zeal to work tirelessly with villagers in Maharashtra...to address both their aspirations and their adversities through collective action and heightened confidence." While setting out on her mission in 1990s, Mishra decided that her self-help group would not work according to priorities of donors, or compete for Government projects. People would identify their own problems and find the solutions themselves - was her motto. "I never aspired for government funds and did not take money from private parties who give a particular amount which they want to be targeted at a particular section of the society in a specific period. I did not want to be involved in the number game or time game," she maintained. According to Mishra, her approach was to tackle issues and not projects, for rural development. "I make it a point to work with the villagers rather than behaving like a leader." Starting with a self-help group comprising 14 women in her village Bhadarpur in North Maharashtra, she runs a SHG network of 1,000 women who specialise in making quilts, food products and embroidery, among others, in several villages. The network is engaged in microcredit and income- generating activities. As many as 350 women are involved in the quilt business with their product being exported to US, UK and Australia. PTI MR RSY RT SRE
