Story of steady diligence
- Sunaina Devi
Sunaina Devi (51) of Kandy village in Sikandara, Bihar, mortgaged her cropland for the treatment of her ailing husband, but she was unable to save him. Following her husband's death, she was left with the burden of running the household. She had a son who was uneducated and unemployed. Her family resided in a small village with few employment opportunities. The people of the village used to either work in agriculture or as labourers. In such a situation, the responsibility of managing the household expenses fell on Sunaina Devi’s shoulders.
However, Sunaina Devi did not give up and decided to start her own business. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funds, she discovered that her desire to establish a business is a non-starter. During this time, she met Madan Kumar Rai, the Branch Manager of Sindhuja Microcredit's Sikandara branch, who had gone to her area to conduct diligence on a center that was scheduled to receive credit from Sindhuja. After the center meeting, Sunaina Devi explained her situation and inquired the Branch Manager about the loan and the process of obtaining it.
The Branch Manager inquired about Sunaina Devi with the members of that center and asked their consent to allow Sunaina Devi to join the group based on collective responsibility. Sunanina Devi was welcomed into the group with open arms. Sunaina Devi initially accepted 25 thousand rupees ($340) from Sindhuja and started a tiny fruit and vegetable shop in a nearby market. Over time, this shop began to flourish and grow. She started saving money and subsequently deposited it in the bank. After a while, she reclaimed her mortgaged land with the money she saved. Now, her son has started working and growing crops on the land.
Sunaina Devi maintained her loan discipline in the group, as a result of which she obtained a loan of 40 thousand rupees ($545) in the next cycle and spent some of the money in the shop and the balance on purchasing a cow. Her son started looking after the cow. She's currently selling milk to a nearby sweet shop. Her earnings have increased and now come from three sources: a fruit and vegetable shop, a yield from agricultural land, and milk. Now the entire family is delighted with the newfound prosperity.