The Humphrey Fellowship Program at BU recently announced the publication of its first-ever research report titled Wealth, Poverty & Opportunity in the 21st century. The report is jointly sponsored by the BU Center for Finance, Law and Policy and the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at BU – also a UNESCO/UNITWIN Network Affiliate. This report on financial inclusion across the globe spotlights case studies by Humphrey Fellows, an Associate Professor of the Bunker Hill Community College, and our Fulbright Nehru Doctoral Fellow at BU’s Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program – Vrinda Varma. Vrinda’s article on the women-based participatory Kudumbasree (‘family prosperity’) initiative and BU Humphrey Fellow Nermin Helmy Ali Ahmed’s on village savings and loan associations and their impact on women’s empowerment discuss similar stories of female entrepreneurship and financial literacy in their home countries of India and Egypt respectively.
Kudos to CFLP and HHHP plus their partners on this publication! Full report available here:
Vrinda’s article talks about Kudumbasree, the poverty education program launched by the Government of Kerala, India which is doing wonders for the women of the state. The Kudumbasree is an umbrella term for many initiatives undertaken, developed and run by women’s self-help groups in Kerala. A community-based organization, Kudumbasree is engaged in the setting up and running of small-scale enterprises as well as service centers, including but not limited to community banks, canteens, cafes and food processing units. A success story for women around the world, more on Kudumbasree’s activities can be found here: http://www.kudumbashree.org/?q=home
Above is a photo of Kudumbasree workers in front of their canteen at Kannur University, Kerala. Many university canteens, as well as canteens at government centers, are operated by Kudumbasree in the state of Kerala.
Photo and inputs for this account: courtesy Vrinda Varma
