Arfa Bibi and her family were living in extreme poverty for decades. She lived with her husband who was a daily laborer and used to work in agriculture lands. However, he used to remain unemployed for the greater times of the year. Times were extremely for Arfa as she did not know how to provide for her three children. Finally, she decided to resort to begging to support her family.

However, her plights were soon answered as she was selected as a THP beneficiary by the Bandhan Team in Beldanga, Murshidabad. Her village community identified Arfa as hard core poor through the Participatory Rural Appraisal conducted by Bandhan team. After verification by the Bandhan team, she was finally selected as a beneficiary of the THP Program.

She received four goats from Bandhan as her primary enterprise. Thereafter there was no looking back; her asset basket (number of goats) has increased to 11. She sold three goats and used the sale proceeds to start a small poultry enterprise. She bought 10 chickens and reared them .After the chicken laid eggs, she started selling them in the neighbourhood and local markets every day. Presently, she earns on an average Rs.90 through sale of eggs each week. She also ensures that her daughters are fed on eggs each day. At present, she has around 15 chickens.

Gradually, Arfa was gaining confidence to sustain her family on own- this was soon manifested in her desire to further diversify her income options. She further sold 3 goats and leased in 5 kathas of land. She commenced vegetable cultivation on the land. She cultivated cauliflower on her land and reaped a profit of Rs.2400. Later, she again sold 4 goats and leased in another 10 kathas. Today, she ensures vegetable and paddy cultivation on her 15 kathas of land.

Recently, Arfa took the first step towards her economic emancipation by taking her first microfinance loan of Rs.3000 to expand her agricultural enterprise.

"My life changed entirely within 24 months and I owe it all to Bandhan" -says Arfa on a concluding note.

      

Sathi Byadh and her family of six were living in utmost penury. Times were difficult as Sathi and her husband worked as daily labours to sustain the family. They managed to get work for 10-15 days in a month. Her children remain starved for days. Things were getting tougher as Sathi decided to resort to begging to feed her hungry children.

During that time, Bandhan had launched a grant based program exclusively for neediest women like Sathi under its 'Targeting the Hard Core' Program (THP). She was selected as a THP beneficiary by the Bandhan Team in Sargachhi, Murshidabad. Her village community identified Sathi as 'hard core poor' through the Participatory Rural Appraisal conducted by Bandhan team. After verification by the Bandhan team, she was finally selected as a beneficiary of the THP Program. As a part of the program, Bandhan encouraged her to take up basket weaving as her primary source of income. She received initial capital (in kind) worth Rs.2000 from Bandhan. She also started receiving a weekly consumption stipend and the same was continued until economic return yielded from her enterprise. Recently, she has built up a capital of Rs.7000. She sells baskets to the wholesale market and earns around Rs.120 per day. Sathi has also been able to use her literacy and numeracy knowledge into her business. Every day, she keeps a written account of her business.

On the social front, she has changed a lot. Bandhan has motivated her to keep her household clean and maintain cleanliness and hygiene in the family. She is also sending her children to school. She is now able to provide three full meals to her family. Consumption basket has enlarged and now the family regularly eats rice, vegetables, and pulses. They eat fish and meat at least once a week. She never knew how to save, but now she saves regularly. She has bought a bicycle and has repaired her house

She has been encouraged by The Bandhan Team to open up a fixed deposit account of Rs.4000 in the post office. She also saves Rs.100 every month with a local saving agency. She is also confident of opening and sustaining a recurring account of Rs.300 with the local bank.

Sathi has taken the first step towards her economic emancipation by joining mainstream microfinance. She has taken a loan of Rs.5000 to expand her existing enterprise. She plans to sell her products in the local fairs.