ESAF celebrated 20 years of service on March 24, 2012 in Thrissur. The 6-month long celebrations were inaugurated by C.N. Balakrishnan, Co-operative Minister. During his inaugural address the Minister commended ESAF’s focus on social development. I.P Paul, Mayor, Thrissur presided over the function.
Livable cities project jointly promoted by ESAF and Health Bridge, Canada was inaugurated by the Mayor. The project is aimed at creating a safe city for children and pedestrians. Therambil Ramakrishnan, MLA, Thrissur distributed the best ESAF Entrepreneurs Award. The Agricultural Technology Management Project (ATMA) to be implemented by ESAF for the State Government was inaugurated by Mercy Thomas, Deputy Director, District ATMA Project.
K. Paul Thomas during his welcome address opined that ESAF’s attempt to bring social justice through people’s participation proved to be a success. He also appreciated ESAF staff, who has completed 10 years of service within the Organization and complimented the winners of the state level Essay Contest organized by ESAF. George Thomas, Director Operations, KC Ranjini, Board Member, Vikraman Ampalakattu, Board Member and Christie Daniel, Program Manager, Health Bridge also spoke on the occasion.

ESAF observed World Women’s Day on March 08, 2012. K. Paul Thomas, Executive Director, ESAF inaugurated the function and the program was presided over by Mereena Paul, Chair Person, Grievance Cell. The key note address for the day was delivered by Advocate Subi Babu, Deputy Mayor, Thrissur Corporation. M.L. Rosy, Standing Committee Chair Person, Public Works, K.A. Usha, Sub Inspector, Thrissur Women Cell, Geethu Ramdas, Student Counsillor, George Thomas, Director Operations, ESAF Microfinance and Jacob Samuel, Director ESAF Healthcare also spoke on the occasion.

ESAF participated in the international exhibition and workshop on disaster management held at the picturesque Kanankakunnu in Trivandrum on March 04, 2012. Oommen Chandy, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala inaugurated the program. The exhibition, titled ‘Surakshaayanam-2012', and a two-day workshop were jointly organized by the Department of Revenue and Disaster Management, Kerala, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority and the Institute of Land and Disaster Management. The workshop was attended by an array of international experts and practitioners in disaster management. From ESAF, Roy K. Alex, GM, North Zone and George Paulose , Senior Manager, NPS, participated in the function.

ESAF participated in the Fair Trade Alliance Building Meet on April 24, 2012. The invitees participated represented a cross section of the population covering consumer activists, environmentalists, FTF members, academicians, students, award winning farmers, planters, FLO executives and NGO leaders. K. Paul Thomas, Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance delivered the keynote address and Sridharan Nair, Vice Chair, FTF India presided over the function.

ESAF has launched the ‘Livable Cities’ project for Thrissur on Mar 23, 2012. Earlier ESAF had successfully completed similar kind of initiatives in the cities of Bangalore and Nagpur. The main goal behind the endeavor is to make the city friendly to children, pedestrians and cycle riders. Shahul Hameed, Asst. Commisioner, Thrissur inaugurated the discussion. K. Paul Thomas, Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance, presided over the function held at Hotel Ashoka Inn. Representatives from various walks of life including politics, schools, clubs, and resident associations participated in the program.
K. Paul Thomas during his presidential address said that ESAF is proud to act as a catalyst for change that can usher in social justice. He added that the endeavor holds significance, as growing motorization has led to a dramatic increase in the number of pedestrian fatalities due to blatant lack of consideration for pedestrians and bicycle riders in the physical design of infrastructure. Shahul Hameed also praised ESAF for its efforts and assured support of his department. The project also has a separate module titled ‘Safe Route to Schools’ that emphasizes on safety of school children.

As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations, ESAF has organized a Fair Trade Exhibition on March 24, 2012 at Town Hall, Thrissur. International Resources for Fair Trade (IRFT) supported ESAF in organizing the event. The exhibition was inaugurated by C.N. Balakrishnan, Minister for Co-operation. 25 stalls were set up for the exhibition. There were exclusive stalls for ESAF Dumka Products, Prerana and Kudumbashree. Other stalls covered products like Terracraft, Anikar, Poultry, Dairy etc. On the first day, the exhibition recorded a footfall of 4,000 (from 10.00 AM - 03.00 PM).

ESAF observed World Safety Day on March 05, 2012. K. Paul Thomas, Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance spoke at length on the importance of safety at work places. Five fire extinguishers were placed at the Corporate Office as part of the observation.

ESAF organized a stakeholder consultation meeting on Dec 16, 2011 at Thrissur, related to the Micro Energy Program initiated with Micro Energy Credits, USA. More than 100 sangam members participated. The objective of the program was to understand the buying approach, attitude and behavior analysis on the demand and utility of energy saving products among the clients. As per the program, ESAF is planning to distribute solar lighting systems, water purifiers, and efficient cook stoves to its current and potential members.
The clients were enthusiastic in their response and clarified their doubts with Jennifer Tam, Fellow, Micro Energy Credits, USA. During his inaugural address K. Paul Thomas, Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance educated the clients on the entrepreneurial opportunities open to them through the intiative. Christudas K.V., Director, NRM, explained at length the importance of alternative sources of energy under the light of rising costs of energy and environment degradation. In October 2011, ESAF Microfinance and Micro Energy Credits, USA signed an agreement to work together to develop and expand the clean energy program at ESAF.

ESAF branches across the country commemorated World AIDS day on Dec 01, 2011. The program was held under the aegis of ESAF SHG Federations in all the states in which ESAF had presence. In Thrissur district, the program at Puthiyapalam was inaugurated by Sri Therambil Ramakrishnan, MLA. K. Paul Thomas Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance presided over the function. C.D. Sunny, Area Manager, Thrissur welcomed the gathering. Rajan Nair, Scientific Assistant, Medical College, Thrissur delivered a lecture on AIDS awareness. ESAF Blood Donation Forum conducted a blood donation camp after the program with the support of Govt. Medical College, Thrissur.
SHG members who participated in the function made the day memorable by taking oaths and thereby paying respects to all those who fell victim to this deadly disease. Latha Mani, Board Member, ESAF SHG Federation read the oath. Around 100 sangam members attended the program. Robert Antony, Branch Manager, Kundukkad proposed a vote of thanks.

ESAF Microfinance participated in the All India Microfinance Summit held in New Delhi on Dec 12 -13, 2011. The 8th Microfinance Summit was organized by Access Development Services at Hotel Ashok in New Delhi. Y.C. Nanda, Chairman, Microfinance India Advisory Group, welcomed the gathering. The 'State of the sector report 2011' authored by N. Srinivasan was released during the inaugural session. The theme of the conference was 'bridging the hiatus, building trust'.
K. Paul Thomas, Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance was a panel member for the session- Health Plus Microfinance held on Dec 13, 2011. C.S. Gosh, Managing Director, Bandhan Financial Services and David Gibbons, Founder, Cashpor were some of the other panelists for the session.
H.R. Khan, Deputy Governor, RBI, announced during the valedictory session that MFIs will be allowed to draw ECBs up to $10 mn. K. Paul Thomas, Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance opined that the move is expected to address the issue of liquidity that the sector has been facing in recent times. George Thomas, Director Operations, Roy K. Alex, Director Projects, Sony V. Mathew, Head – Corporate Communications, Jijo Kuriappan, AGM Operations, Joseph Varghese, Senior Manager, Corporate Relations and Sandhya Suresh, Manager- R & D also represented ESAF in the conference.

ESAF and International Resources for Fairer Trade (IRFT) jointly organized a Fair Trade Program - Pro-sustain, at Thrissur (Mannuthy) on Dec 21 – 24, 2011. K. Paul Thomas, Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance inaugurated the program. Gaynor Peas, CEO IRFT visited the venue on December 22, 2011. The program was funded by European Union and other social-oriented agencies like Hivos, FTF-India & Shop for Change gave outside support to the program. The theme of the program was 'building environmentally sustainable production and consumption practices'.
The program was an opportunity to inform local people on fair trade and almost 6000 people participated. K. Paul Thomas, Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance said that the success of the event showed that it could be considered for an annual festival.
Products made by ESAF sangam members using eco-friendly handicrafts (made out of screw pine, jute, bamboo, grass, handmade paper), ethnic food items, hybrid varieties of plant seeds & seedlings etc. were displayed and sold in the program. 78 women SHG members have benefitted from the Christmas trade. Short films on fair trade were also shown in the venue. Products made by artisans of Jharkhand were also displayed in the program. Christmas gifts sponsored by ESAF and IRFT were distributed to all the participants.

At the Head Office Christmas program was celebrated on Dec 22, 2011 at Parish Hall, St Antony's Church, Mannuthy. Cultural programs including Kids Programs were organized as part of the function. K. Paul Thomas, Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance presided over the function. P.M. Francis, District Collector, Thrissur, delivered the keynote address. George Thomas, Director Operations and Jacob Samuel, Program Director also spoke on the occasion.
ESAF branches across the nation cheerfully celebrated Christmas from Dec 17 -20, 2011 at all Area levels. Chief Guests of the programs cut the Christmas cakes and delivered X'mas messages. Cultural programs conducted by the staff and family members were held at the branch level.

ESAF Central India, organized a rally at Karnal Bagh, Nagpur as part of the Livable Cities Project to demand more functional parks for the children. ESAF has identified two non functional parks and a Park Council was formed as part of the project to ensure its functionality.

As part of Christmas celebrations, ESAF organized a sweater distribution program for poor children at ESAF Child Care Centre in Jharkhand. Coupons were distributed to all the departments and branches across the board. Amount collected from the initiative was used to purchase the sweaters. In the program held on Dec 19, 21 and 22, 650 sweaters were distributed to the children from 14 child care centers of ESAF.

ESAF Microfinance formally launched its association with MicroEnergy Credits Corporation USA, on Nov 09, 2011. MicroEnergy Credit is a financial intermediary, which links Microfinance institutions to the carbon markets when they lend for clean energy. K. Paul Thomas, Managing Director, ESAF Microfinance inaugurated the program held at ESAF Head Office, Thrissur. Christudas K.V., Director, Natural Resources Management, ESAF, welcomed the gathering. Jennifer Tam, Fellow, Microenergy Credits made a presentation which described the benefits of the program to all stakeholders.  Jennifer Tam will be facilitating ESAF Microfinance in earning the carbon points that is marketable in the international market.