REWRITING DESTINY

A New Ray Of Light

A small act can change a life – a radical change from rags to riches!
On the path of life we often pass by people, who have the streets as their home, the leftovers thrown into the dustbin as their food and oversized or undersized torn clothes to cover their skin and bones. It is a far cry to think of them having the greater joys of life like love, respect and belongingness. Yet, their condemned state hardly hits the heart of the many who would not even give them a glance of compassion, who walk away indifferent to the pain of hunger borne by innocent children and adults.

One such moment made Shri Jai Prakash Pandey, Manager, Microfinance Branch, Bhopal dedicate his entire life to the poor and make tremendous positive differences in the life of women and children, especially in the tribal areas.

A recent experience he had is worth mentioning here and emulating by others, where a small loan provided by him changed the destiny of a student.
SBI, the great Bank that it is, had come up with a new concept, for the first time in India , where with the help of NGOs, in unbanked areas, women upliftment is given top priority. In Jhabua, at Jobat village, Alirajpur which is one of the Adivasi areas, Shri Jai Prakash conducted a meeting of 50 women, with the aim of bringing about a smile on their face, prosperity in their life by making available small funds without much formalities, through NGOs, so that they can be released from the deadly clutches of moneylenders.
The small loan amount was ‘nai roshni ki kiran’ (a new ray of light) for the women in their own words. For 30 kms and more the area had no banks, people were unaware of banking facilities and also scared to step into a neat looking bank for the fear of the fact that they are not welcome anywhere!
In the meeting, a woman narrated how Rs. 3000/- provided by the State Bank of India in time helped her pay the college fees of her son, who was doing engineering; else he would have lost about 3 years of his valuable time. This small amount enabled her son to write his exam. No wonder, since the brilliant boy had the ability and with Mr. Jai Prakash taking keen interest in their welfare, he topped the college and brought laurels to his poor parents and his village!
Our Micro Finance branch has disbursed about 80 lacs in unbanked and remote areas on an average of Rs. 2000/- to Rs. 5000/- per family, introducing the joy of life to the downtrodden.


Mr Jai Prakash Pandey interacting with the members of Priyasakhi Mahila Sangh, Indore

Working for the tribals and the masses that are cut off from the society, has become part of Shri Jai Prakash’s nature. He was also BM, at Narayanganj Branch (District Mandla) and was convener of ‘Chutka Jagrati Manch’, which is a social and welfare organization for tribals. His records reveal that he has been able to uplift 80000 women in M.P. and Chattisgarh. Our Micro Finance branch has also sanctioned 13 crores since April this year - branch where he supports his CM and both have no other staff for assistance. His motive in life is to make SBI the prime bank through putting into action Citizenship in him and increasing it by soul searching all the time. He adds with a bright smile that he has been able to introduce banking to the common man who is underprivileged. This is his inner fruit that adds to his passion to do more for the ignored.
The Almighty lent his pen to Shri Jai Prakash to rewrite the destiny of the Engineer boy. Can we also do our might for the unfortunate who have all the ability but lack the small amount of help that we can so easily provide and be in the good books of the Almighty?
Remember, He loves those who love His creatures and cares for them. As promised then our Destiny is also taken care of by Him.

Contributed by: MS. HARINA SHARMA, FACULTY, SBLC, INDORE
reena.sharma@sbi.co.in