Aloysius Fernandez prepared for a life of service in the Church - and was even ordained as one in 1953. But when he witnessed the abject suffering caused by the Bangladesh refugee crisis and the blight of poverty on people in Maharashtra in times of drought he decided to leave the Church and pivot to working in development. An economist by training, Al Fernandez spent over forty years at Myrada, helping transform the idea of financial inclusion and microfinance, and pioneered the Self-Help Group model in India. In 1987, NABARD, the national bank for agriculture and rural development provided the first social venture capital to these Self-Help Groups, setting off a veritable Self-Help Group movement in India and laying the foundation for microfinance in the country.

Al Fernandez has held many illustrious positions in his career - as the Deputy Director of Caritas India, as Executive Director of Myrada, as Chairman of the Board of the microfinance institution Sanghamithra Rural Financial Services and as the Chairman of NABFINS. But his contribution to the nation goes beyond these titles.

In this episode of Grassroot Nation, Al Fernandez is in conversation with his colleague Vidya Ramachandran.

For additional information including additional resources and show notes, please go to www.rohininilekaniphilanthropies.org


Additional Reading:

The Myrada Experience – 50 Years of Learning by Aloysius P. Fernandez

Myrada’s Publications

South Asia Partnership Canada

Myrada- Spin off Institutions (MPIs)

Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire

The Myrada Experience of “Building Poor Peoples Institutions” by Aloysius P. Fernandez (2015)

PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL AND PARTICIPATORY LEARNING METHODS By Myrada

Why Sanghamitra is Different by A P Fernandez (a chapter in the book Microfinance in India edited by K G Karmakar)

Archival Audio:
WATER SHED | ಜಲಾನಯನ ಪ್ರದೇಶ | MYRADA KAMALAPURA KALABURAGI | BFT TRAINING by Siddhu Power M

MASS NGO GHATAPRABHA BELGAUM by MASS NGO BELGAUM