A rich tribute to social sector leader Prema Gopalan, who immensely contributed to society

A great social worker Prema Gopalan is no more in this world. She will always be remembered for organizing and enabling the rural women of Maharashtra. She was at the highest peak of her success and popularity when she left this world. Her Swayam Shikshan Prayog has helped nearly 300,000 rural women turn entrepreneurs. Noted social entrepreneur Prema Gopalan, a tireless crusader for rural women’s leadership, passed away in Pune on March 29, 2022, aged 66. 

As founder and executive director of the NGO Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), Ms. Gopalan’s outfit, spread across seven states in India, has helped nearly 300,000 rural women carve new identities as entrepreneurs, farmers and community leaders to date.

Founded in 1998 by Ms. Gopalan and activist-academic Sheela Patel, the SSP has been rendering yeoman service to help women from India’s (and especially Maharashtra’s) rural hinterland break gender stereotypes and play a decisive role in adopting sustainable farming models.

“Prema Gopalan’s passing is an irreparable loss to the social development sector. The works and thoughts of Prema Gopalan are so influential that it is not possible to forget them. Thousands of women will continue to find inspiration from her. We need to preserve her ideas and thoughts so that they can be used effectively in the cause of women’s upliftment”, – said Rusen Kumar, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of India CSR, remembering her works.

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The SSP model comprises four ventures: a federated network of 5,000 SHGs, a resilience fund for women-led businesses, a rural school of entrepreneurship and leadership for women, and a market aggregator that provides warehousing, branding, and marketing and distribution services for the last mile of women-led businesses.

Very few people have done the work of organizing women in our country. Prema Gopalan was one of them. Prema Gopalan not only awakened the women but also supported them to move forward. We need to take inspiration from Prema Gopalan to make women financially empowered. Highlighting the importance of Prema Gopalan’s work, said Sita Ram Gupta, convener of Samruddh Bharat Abhiyan and well-known social sector leader.

Through Ms. Gopalan’s efforts, the SSP set up a strong support network for women leaders called ‘ Sakhi in rural areas, offering incubation and business development services to equip them with critical skills required to exercise their leadership in areas of governance, financial management, climate-resilient agriculture, entrepreneurship, and sustainable livelihoods.

Taking the projects of women empowerment on the ground is a challenging task. The work done by Prema Gopalan for the upliftment of women is truly astonishing. Women like Prema Gopalan will always be needed to teach the lessons of economic freedom to women while underlining the importance of Prema Gapolan’s work, said Sanjay Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Vice President, Pune Management Association. 

Today, through the SSP, at least 65,000 women practice organic farming, ensuring nutritious food on the table for their families, and simultaneously regenerating the soil. About 45,000 women entrepreneurs are heading successful businesses, bringing additional incomes to their families. Many have fought local bodies elections and have been elected to civic bodies.

Ms. Gopalan’s intrinsic belief in women’s leadership garnered worldwide interest and acknowledgment.

In a career spanning three decades, she was feted with a number of national and international awards. Most recently, she was the recipient of the 2021 Women Transforming India Award — NITI Aayog’s flagship initiative which honors women entrepreneurs bringing transformational changes in India.

In recognition of her entrepreneurial vision, she was feted in October 2018 with the ‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year award by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship — the sister organisation of the World Economic Forum and the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation. She was also the recipient of the Parkhe Foundation’s ‘Adarsha Mata Puraskar’ and the Roddenberry Foundation’s +1Global Fund in recognition of impactful work during the COVID-19 pandemic across adversely affected communities.

(India CSR)