a) What is somitys/groups meeting and why

A regular meeting is the essential component of micro-credit process. This meeting may be weekly, fortnightly or monthly. To attend the meeting is compulsory for the members. At a definite date, time and place, all members should attend for planning, to decide the activities for future, propose loan, to collect installment & savings money, discuss many things and decisions are taken accordingly.
The poor and hardcore poor peoples get together and become organized through group meeting. Become alert and try to realize their rights. Equality is established in the somity, upper-class enterprising peoples of the somity get co-operation of these organized peoples. Through the decision of the somity meeting, employment is created for the poor and thus they are not to kill idle time. Due to the increasing income of the members, their buying capacity and the total production of the society go up. The community is thus saved from the bad effect of money lending.
Due to the increasing capacity of the poor people including above-noted facts the religious trend is established in the somity. Development in education and health status is marked. At the place or room where the meeting of somity is being held is known as the somity place or room. The meeting minutes are to be written along with the financial projection in the meeting register.

b) General agenda in the somity/Group meeting

  • Rules and regulations of the somity
  • Selection of time and place for the meeting
  • Any decision was taken for the somity
  • Importance of savings usefulness and to decide the amount
  • To get together and organize the poor and hardcore poor people
  • To buildup awareness for establishing the rights
  • To establish equality in the somity
  • To have the co-operation of upper-class people of the somity
  • To create employment opportunity
  • To increase income
  • To get rid of the bad effect of money lending
  • Religious practice
  • Education
  • Health
  • Security for Nutrition and food
  • Plantation cultivate vegetables and fruits
  • To use safe water and health conducive latrines
  • Local environment
  • To include new members
  • Proposal for loan
  • Proper utilization of the loan and its supervision
  • Time conducive different issues
  • Disaster preparedness
  • Rejection of member and refunding the savings
  • Distribution of loan
  • Depositing the installment and saving money
  • Tore solve any problem among the members of the somity
  • To take a joint effort
  • Rules and regulations of the organization
  • Different types of opportunities
  • Regarding the utilization of the local resources
  • Total projection of information in the meeting

c) Meeting place/venue of somity/group

  • To decide the place or room for the somity so that it is close to the houses of all members. The room for the somity cannot be established near hat, Bazaar, Mosque, by the side of the road, station and in the river erosion prone area
  • It is not worthy to select a crowded place for organizing meeting
  • A place where the members can move easily and independently is to be selected 

d) Considerations for selecting a time for the somity meeting

For regular meeting of the somity, time is to be selected on unanimous decision so that the members are not financially looser, there is no social problem and the members can attend the meeting. The somity meeting will be held on a definite date, at a definite place and time. If necessary, considering the busy time of the members in the year the meeting time should be prefixed.

e) Members responsibility in somity meeting

  • The first activity of the member is to attend the center timely
  • To respect each other and sit with all maintaining discipline
  • To sign the attendance register
  • To deposit the installment and saving money
  • To verify the deposited amount in the passbook and the signature of the staff
  • To help in doing the meeting
  • To supervise the loan
  • To maintain discipline in the meeting
  • To participate in the joint activities and decision
  • To listen to the staff and to implement accordingly
  • To participate in the discussion for development
  • To maintain a discipline of the somity

f) The somity chief/ group leaders responsibility at somity meeting

  • To attend all members to the meeting of all centers
  • To start and end the meeting
  • To a-certain facilities of the members
  • To communicate with the organization
  • To help the staff in doing his duties
  • To propose loan proposal
  • To help in loan disbursement
  • To know about the members and if necessary inform the staff, and the concerned persons
  • To collect installment and savings of all members
  • To deposit saving money and the weekly installment to the staff, get signed all the pass books and to hand over all pass book to the individual member.
  • To take attendance of all the members in the meeting register
  • To take combined attempt for social development works
  • To discuss at least one development issue in every meeting
  • To discuss at least one development issue in every meeting

g) The staff responsibility of somity meeting

  • To attend the meeting in time and to assist in conducting the meeting
  • To exchange with the members and to know their families
  • To provide training to the members
  • To know the problems of the members, after verification in the field to get the solution
  • To deposit the money of installment and savings
  • To sign in the passbook
  • To accept the loan proposal and the disbursement their of
  • To study the attendance register of the meeting
  • To supervise the loan
  • To keep accounts properly and to inform all concerned
  • To verify the passbooks with the ledger and after signing, hand it over to the group meeting
  • For the sake of development to help in different work and to provide the training
  • To create an opportunity for new activity and to assist in the social development
  • To ensure the discussion on development issue in the meeting

h) Absence of the members in the meeting

For any reason, if a member does not participate in meetings regularly, he is known as the absent member. Generally, if any member remains absent in successive three meetings, his membership will be canceled. But this may deviate on the approval of the somity or special consideration. In the micro-credit process, one important work is to attend the meeting and to sign the attendance register. Attendance of the members is preserved in the attendance register. Information preserved in the attendance register is helpful for the study regarding discipline and other matters. For the prayer of the member and on the approval of the somity the absence during giving birth to a child will be recognized as the normal absence within the knowledge of the staff.

i) Steps for regularize the ie-regular(trouble)member in the somity meeting

To regularize the member in trouble, at first, the causes of his present condition are to be analyzed. Sufficient information regarding his present condition and its depth are to be collected. Care should be taken so that he is not put into trouble to clear up his installment regularly. To create a conducive atmosphere for his regular payment, his family members are to be consulted. If necessary, he is to be provided with excessive support. Other members should communicate him regularly. He has to understand the bad effect of being absent in the somity meeting.