 |
 |
 |
| V.Dhanam used her loan to purchase a sewing machine and she now makes blouse pieces and bags. She was not working before but she now makes Rs 100/- per day profit. She was educated to 10th standard and has a son and daughter. | Arani is 33 and studied to 5th standard. She has two teenage girls as well as the son shown in the picture. She has a flower shop near the temple and has invested in more stock. Her average daily sales are now more than Rs 300/- | Devagi sells sarees and cloth pieces. She used her loan to increase stocks and she now sells between 10 and 15 sarees per week. She has seen her weekly profit increase from Rs 400/- to Rs 500/-. All her children have been educated and done higher studies |
 |
 |
 |
| Krisnaveni runs both a provisions shop and a tea shop. She used her loan to increase her stock but has found that this has not helped her increase sales in the provisions shop because there is too much competition. However, the tea shop is doing better and she earns between Rs 200/- and 400/- per day from that | Esakiammal is an illiterate 60 year old widow with one grown up daughter. She has used the loan to set up a flower selling shop on her house. Her income has only increased by about Rs 50/- per day but she is now spared the pain and effort of walking the streets selling flowers. After repaying her loan and interest, she is will be even better off. | Nagalakshmi sells flowers. She used her loan to enable her to rent a shop instead of selling in the street. She has seen her profits double from Rs 50/- to Rs 100/- per day. She has four daughters although only three are shown in the picture - each wearing some of the produce of the flower shop! |
 |
 |
 |
| Easwari and her husband used to work in a soda factory on daily wages, which meant they only had seasonal work. They used the loan to invest in snacks manufacturing. In the few months since they started the business, daily sales have grown to Rs 500/- to 600/- per day and they now employ two other people to help the business. They estimate that their monthly profit is around Rs 6,000/-. Easwari was educated up to 3rd standard and she and her husband have a boy and two girls. | Annapoorani is 46 and studied up to 5th standard at school. She has a 19 year old son. She used the loan from SDMT to replace an existing loan at 15% per month interest. This means that instead of paying an interest of Rs 750/- per month, she is repaying the SDMT loan at Rs 920/- per month - but she will be free from debt in a few months time! She is also a flower vendor and earns between Rs 50/- and 100/- each day, though this increases to over Rs 200/- per day in season. | Uma used to sell flowers in the street. She has used her loan to invest in garlands, make decorations for marriage halls and prepare her own publicity materials. She estimates that her average daily income has increased from about Rs 150/- to Rs 350/-. Uma is illiterate and has two teenage children of her own as well as the 2 year old girl shown in the picture, who she has taken care of since the Tsunami disaster |
 |
 |
 |
| Saradha has been running a food stall for 20 years. She used the loan to increase stocks and replace another loan at 15% per month interest. She now makes a daily profit of Rs 100/- over and above the loan repayment. | Malliga makes biscuits, cakes and other cooked items. Her business has doubled since taking the loan and she now earns Rs 100/- per day, after covering the loan repayment. She was educated to 3rd Standard and has one nine year old daughter - shown in the picture. | D.Vijaya is involved in the cloth business and has seen a small increase in sales since taking on the loan from SDMT. Her weekly profit is now about Rs 650/-. |
 |
 |
|
| I.Vijaya sold flowers in the streets and bought a cart with her loan and to expand her operations. Her daily sales have increased to Rs 1000/- and she now employs two people just to make garlands. Her daily profit after all expenses and deduction of loan is Rs 200/-, double what she made before. She was educated to 5th Standard and has three girls | If you found these testimonies challenging or stimulating, you might like to read what another group of ladies experienced. Here are the testimonies of the first group, started in 2005 |
|