Help poor farmers get access to food grains for their farms and homes

**Kushma and her husband are farmers** who live in Sambharpur village of Maitha Block, Kanpur Dehat. Kushma is 48 years old. **Unfortunately, a few years ago her husband lost one leg in an accident.** She has three daughters and a son. Two of her daughters are married and living with their families. **They have only 0.75 acres of cultivable land. They also work as share-croppers to meet their family expenses. Even after working really hard, the meager income they had was not enough for their needs.** During the lean season, her stock of food grain was almost finished, and the next harvest was after 2 months. Kushma's family faced survival problems. **If she borrowed grain or money from money lenders, she would have to pay a considerable interest. If she didn't the family would have to starve until the next harvest.** Kushma discussed her problem with her sister, who is a member of Maa Laxmi Swayam Sahayata Samooh. **Her sister then told her that the group had set up a grain bank and where she could get one quintal of wheat as a loan. At the time of harvest, she would have to return 1.25 quintals.** Kushma requested for the loan. A group meeting was called to discussed Kushma's case. **The members agreed to provide grains to Kushma. She got 1 quintal wheat to meet her family needs.** Ma Laxmi Grain Bank ensured food security to Kushma's family. **This timely support helped her family from the clutches of moneylenders.** **You can also help poor village farmers be self-sustained with timely aid. You can help them get credible help for both their livelihood as well as basic food needs. You can give with confidence because every program listed is [GIVEASSURED](https://www.giveindia.org/giveassured).**

Shramik Bharti is seeking to improve conditions for elderly farmers in India through the establishment of grain banks. Donation to this program will support a fund that covers the cost of creating grain banks, the grains as well as transportation and administrative expenses.Elderly farmers in India are amongst the worst-off regarding employment and income. Work is tough to come by, and when it does, it often results in abysmal pay. Coupled with irregularity and the need to support a family, they are forced to beg or take exploitative loans. Shramik Bharti opens grain banks in villages to help these farmers. These grain banks are managed by women's self-help groups (SHGs). The banks provide grains on credit at the time of need. The loan is returned at the time of harvest, in the form of grain, with 25% interest on the original quantity. Poor families in the village that do not have sufficient food grains to sustain their family all throughout the year can thus borrow and return, as required. There will be no income generated out of this activity but replenishing the grains will help sustain it for years.The bank is generally a 500-kilo capacity tank, and wheat grain is stored in the container.These have been welcomed in the community, especially by destitute elderly, women-headed families and landless households. Many more villages have also shown interest in starting grain banks.12 Grain Banks have been established so far by Shramik Bharti in the block of Kanpur Dehat. A maximum of 5 families can be supported by each bank. Two members of the SHG are accountable for each grain bank. When you donate to this program, you help underprivileged farmer families get access to grains for farming as well as making sure that their families have food throughout the year.

Shramik Bharti is a Kanpur based NGO which works with both rural and urban communities. This includes the urban slums of Kanpur (once known as the Manchester of the East) as well as inaccessible rural areas characterised by large tracts of saline lands, ravine areas and extreme poverty. With changing economic scenarios, the sources of livelihood are getting equally affected and both urban and rural communities have poor capacities for seeking and adopting newer and additional sources of livelihood. Women and children are the worst sufferers of these inadequacies with men often migrating to alternative locations for livelihood. It is with this perspective that Shramik Bharti works for the empowerment of the poor and underprivileged with special focus on women and children. Their mission is to facilitate and foster people's democratic institutions.