Shimla Devi lives with her husband Chandi, their three children and her mother in law. Their small, mud and stone house is in a poor state of repair. They are looking for a loan to protect their land and increase the profit they make from their harvest.
Shimla Devi married Chandi when she was just 12 years old. Now 30, she is focusing on keeping her own daughters in school as long as she can. Her two oldest daughters are in elementary school but her youngest, who is just three, hasn't started yet. They have a lot of school fees ahead of them!
Chandi works as a mechanic, Shimla Devi farms the family's land and livestock and her mother in law receives a small pension of $7.73 a month. Together, they can get by but Shimla Devi is determined to improve her children's living conditions and their chances of a good future. She needs to be able to provide a more stable income and have enough money to put some aside for home improvements.
Protecting their future
Shimla Devi has already purchased some fencing materials but she needs a loan of $463.86 so she can by the rest and properly secure her farm land. Once the land is fenced, wild deer won't be able to damage her crops as they do now and she'll be able to harvest more of what she plants. This means that the family will earn more money from the same amount of labor every year.
Shimla Devi is confident that she'll be able to repay the loan and make a good profit within the first three years. She plans to save as much of the profit as possible so that they can rebuild their home. She dreams of a new house, one made of brick and cement; a safe home for her daughters.