New house, second toilet. | Milaap

New house, second toilet.

I met Matheswari at her new residence in Ponnanganipatty, some fifty kilometers from the city of Tiruchirappalli. The house is in the process of being built, but very functional. She and her husband have started living there since their farm is in the backyard. Her in-laws house, her former residence, is only a five-minute walk from her house. Matheswari leads a five-member JLG formed by for the purpose of availing a loan of Rs.50,000 to build sanitation facilities in their homes. The loan is provided by GUARDIAN, Milaap's partner. When I arrived at her house, she and her friend were busy harvesting groundnuts. She was kind enough to offer me a handful and sat down with me to answer my questions. She's already built a toilet in her in-laws house with the loan amount, and now she has started the process of building one in her new house, adding some more money of her own. Both, husband and wife, rear cattle and farm on their fields. Their monthly net income is close to Rs.10,000. They have one son who studies in Namakkal, which is an hour and a half away. She made it a point to send him to a matriculation school. Her mother-in-law looks after him. The two live in a rented house there. Matheswari said the loan helped her mobilize a lump-sum amount, which she couldn't have otherwise, given the daily household expenditure and her son's school fees. Their sense of hygiene has been enhanced and she and her family lead much healthier lives now. 


Matheswari