Promoting Rural and Inclusive Banking

From impoverishment to a successful tailoring unit

Most of us were daily wagers and were unable to meet both ends. On top of that, some of us took loans at exorbitantly high interest rates from local moneylenders. In an attempt to alleviate our woes, some of us decided to start a small paper bag unit, but our meagre savings were not sufficient to build it. It was then that we came to know of ICICI Bank’s SHG loans. We formed a SHG, Thara Mahila Sangham, and approached the Bank for financial support. We were overjoyed when the Bank sanctioned us the loan. The Bank also counselled us before and after our loan disbursements.

NpcnZmdpIÄ, IpÀ¯n, amI-vkn, t{^m¡pIÄ, jÀ«pIÄ apXemb hkv{X§fn sshZKv²yw t\-Sn-b tijw Hcp ]pXnb ssSednwKv bqWnäv Bcw-`n-¡m-\mbn D] IcW§Ä hm§m³ R§Ä tem¬ D]tbmKn¨p. Xmakn-bmsX t]«bnse Gähpw anI¨ X¿Â bqWnäpIfn H¶mbn R§Ä amdpI-bpw Cc«n hcpam\w t\SpIbpw sNbv-Xp. bqWnänse ssZ\wZn\ Imcy-§Ä \ndth-äp-¶-Xn-\mbn Hcp P\tdädpw Ce{ÎnIv tamt«mdpw hm§n. Xncph\´]pc¯v sSbv-- ednwKv bqWnäp-Ifpw Iq-Sn Xp-S-§m³ R§Ä Ct¸mÄ ]²XnbnSp¶p. (We used the loan to buy equipment to start a new tailoring unit, specialised in women’s wear like Churidhars, Kurti, Maxi, Frocks, and Shirts. Soon, we became one of the most popular tailoring units in Pettah and started earning double of our previous income. We have even bought a generator and an electric motor to facilitate the day-to-day affairs at the unit. We are now planning to expand into two more tailoring units in Thiruvananthapuram.)

hyàn]c-ambn Ct¸mÄ R§fpsS IpSpw_§fpsS Bhiy§Ä \ndthäm\pw Ip«nIÄ¡v sa¨s¸« PohnXw \ÂIm\pw Ign-bp¶p. kwL-§-fnse ] ecpw X§fpsS `mhn kpc£nXam¡m³ _m¦pIfn ]Ww \nt£]n¡m³ XpS§n. R§fn ]ecpw Ip«nIÄ¡mbn em]v--tSm¸pIfpw, Snhn, d{^nPtdäÀ, ss{K³UÀ F¶nhbpÄs¸sS hnhn[ Krtlm] IcW§fpw hm§n. sFknsFknsF _m¦nsâ klmbt¯msS Zmcn{Zy¯n \n¶v IcIbdm³ IgnªXn R§Ä FÃmhcpw hfsc k´pãcmWv. (On the personal front, we are now able to meet the needs of our families and provide our children a better life. Many of the group members have started depositing money in banks to secure their future. Several of us have bought laptops for our kids and various home appliances including TV, refrigerator and grinder. All of us are very happy, as we have managed to come out of the state of extreme poverty with the help of ICICI Bank.)

From despair to confident growth

There was a time when we could barely make ends meet. Our livelihood depended on the daily wages we earned from seasonal work. Progress was a far cry, as we struggled through our hand-to-mouth existence. But we were keen to change things for the better and decided to form a SHG. Nineteen of us from Thiyagarajapuram village got together to set up the Avaram Poo Magalir Suya Udavi Kuzhu in 2010 with the hope that life would transform for the better for our families and us. Sadly, nothing like that happened. We could not afford to take loan from local moneylenders at high interest rates. We felt we would remain stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty for the rest of our lives.

All that, however, changed few years back, when ICICI Bank extended support to us. We used the money to start various income generation activities, such as flour mill, tiffin stall, provision store and cowshed for dairy. We repaid the loan on time and took another credit facility last year.

இறுதியாக, நாங்கள் கனவு கண்டைாறு எங்களது ெம்பாத்தியம் சபருகி ைளரத் சதாடங்கியதபாது முடிைில்லா சுரங்கப்பாவதயில் ஒளி கெிைவதக் கண்தடாம். எங்களது மகள்களுக்குத் திருமணம் செய்துவைப்பது, நிலம் ைாங்குைது, புதிதாக ை ீடு கட்டுைது அல்லது ஏற்கனதை இருக்கும் ை ீடுகவளச் ெீரவமப்பது தபான்றைற்வற எங்களது ைாழ்நாளில் செய்ய முடியாது என்று நம்பிக்வகயிழந்த நிவல மாறி, அைற்வறச் ெிறப்பாக தமற்சகாள்ள முடிந்தது. (Finally, now we see light at the end of the tunnel as our earnings have started growing the way we had always dreamt they would. We are able to do things, which we had almost given up hope of doing in our lifetime, such as getting our daughters married, purchasing land, construction of a new house or renovation of our houses.)

இன்று சைற்றிகரமான, தன்னம்பிக்வக நிவறந்த, இன்னு ம்ெிறப்பான எதிர்காலத்வத எதிர்சகாள்கிறைர்களாக மாற உதைி செய்தவமக்கு ஐெிஐெிஐ ைங்கிக்கு நன்றிவயத் சதரிைித்துக் சகாள்கிதறாம். எங்களது ைளர்ச்ெிவயக் கண்டபிறகு, கிராமத்தில் இருக்கும் மற்ற சபண்களும் தங்களது ைாழ்க்வகவய மாற்றுைதற்கான முயற்ெிகளில் தாமாகதை உற்ொகத்துடன் ஈடுபடத் சதாடங்கியிருக்கின்றனர். (We are today a successful and confident lot and look forward to an even better future, thanks to ICICI Bank. Seeing our growth, other women from the village are also coming forward to transform their lives.)