SKS - CLIENT SUCCESS STORIES

Bayamma Neerudi

SKS Client Since: March 2001
Age: 49, Married
Children: Seven children—five daughters and two sons
Hometown: Medak, India
Current loan: 3rd loan, $150
Business: Buffalo, bullock cart, leasing land

Before joining SKS, Bayamma used to work as a seasonal agricultural laborer, earning 32 cents per day for only 150 days each year. Her husband was a mechanic in the nearby town of Jogipet, earning only 50 cents per day. One of her sons also worked as an agricultural laborer, while her other son was sold into bonded labor, often working 13 hours or more each day. For much of the year, Bayamma’s family survived on starch as their only food source.

Bayamma became a member of SKS in 2001. With her first loan of $150, she bought a buffalo. By selling milk and other dairy products from the buffalo, she was able to save an average of $2.75 each week after paying her loan installment and buying feed for the buffalo. She used subsequent loans of $64 and $128 to pay for a buffalo and to have cart made, which she rented out to transport sugarcane and other produce from the fields to the factories. With this income, Bayamma was finally able to release her son from bonded labor, whose wages are now added to the family’s income. She recently received her third loan of $150, with which she has leased six acres of land for growing rice.

Bayamma is happy now that she and her family have stable sources of income. Her family eats more nutritious food that includes milk, rice, vegetables and, occasionally, meat. With her future loans, Bayamma hopes to begin repairing houses and also plans to purchase irrigation equipment to increase her crop yield.

Bhagyamma Vadla

Age: 26, Married
Children: One son, 8 years old
Hometown: Medak, India
Current loan: 4th loan, $250
Business: Buffalo milk sales and sewing

Bhagyamma used to struggle to find work. She earned 50 cents a day rolling biddi leaf cigarettes for a manufacturer, but work was inconsistent. Her husband’s day laborer work was also sporadic. They frequently went hungry.

She bought a buffalo with her first microcredit loan to sell the milk. With her second, third and fourth loans she bought additional buffalos that birthed four calves, two of which she sold for $30 each. With her fourth loan, she diversified her business by purchasing a sewing machine. She sews and sells clothing while earning $2.40 daily in buffalo milk sales—a 380 percent increase over her best pre-loan day! With her profits, she and her husband were able to improve their drinking water and don’t get sick as often. They eat regular, nutritious meals. They can afford to pay their son’s school fees and have savings for a medical or other emergency.

Bhagyamma enjoys being in a loan group with women who have become her good friends. Early on, they were scared about their ability to repay but cheered each other on, saying, “We can do this!” Before microcredit, Bhagyamma worried constantly about where the next meal would come from. Now she focuses on her future and her son’s education. Smiling, she comments, “Everything in my life is going well because of Unitus MFI partner SKS.”

Ittamma Polkurthi

SKS Client since: April 2000
Age: 39, Married
Children: Six, ages 11, 12, 18, 20, 23, 25
Hometown: Medak, India
Current loan: 4th loan, $350
Business: Banana plantation

Ittamma Polkurthi and her family were forced from their home and land because the government was building a new dam. They were under-compensated and paid only enough to purchase one empty acre of land. Furthermore, they had to leave during harvest, with no means to feed their family or build shelter. As a result, Ittamma and her husband, in-laws and two oldest children were forced to sell themselves into bonded labor, meaning they worked for nothing more than a small amount. Although illegal, this cruel practice occurs frequently.

Ittamma took out her first $45 loan four years ago and used it to cultivate their land. She was able to harvest some crops, earning just enough to repay her loan. With subsequent loans, she bought banana plants and started a banana plantation on her acre. She harvested and sold her bananas, earning $1,100. With these profits, she rebuilt her house, leased two additional acres, planted more bananas and even bought a buffalo for her family and to sell the surplus milk. She has also hired several employees to help with the banana plantation. Most important, she paid off the debts and freed her family from bonded labor.

Using loans totaling just over $400, this family of eight went from destitute poverty to being productive landowners with a profitable and expanding business and employees. They were freed from the entrapment of bonded labor and became integral and respected members of the community in just four years.