A loan helped Amudha turn her fixer-upper into a proper bathroom

I arrived in the small village of Parali on a Wednesday morning, after a spell of summer storms cleared and the notorious hot Trichy district sun regained its reign over the skies. Amudha’s home had all the charm of a traditionally-built village home, with cool cement floors to balance the hot days, an a nice elevated veranda for lounging in. I knocked on the ornately-carved door, and was greeted by a warm and confident woman. This was Amudha – a rural woman who took out a loan of Rs. 14,000 from Milaap lenders along with her joint-liability group led by her friend, Kamu. Because Kamu was off at work for the day, Amudha agreed to meet and chat with me about her loan experience. First, she told me a bit about herself. Amudha lives with her husband and two young children – an 8-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son. She spends her days working at home as a tailor, stitching garments for local customers. Her husband works reception at a hotel in the nearby town. Next, she began telling me a brief history of her home, and the family’s history of bathrooms. “This house was built a long time ago, and didn’t originally have a bathroom…maybe 20 or 25 years ago a simple bathroom was built by the government or something,” Amudha explained. But that existing bathroom was not the best to begin with, and had now gotten, “old and nasty” from wear and tear. “Though we had a bathroom already, it was dangerous and damaged. We had to replace the toilet, roof and some parts of the walls,” she said. That is why Amudha and her husband decided to take out a loan – to fix up their bathroom and make it safe and hygienic. After meeting with a GUARDIAN (Milaap’s field partner) loan officer and receiving their loan, they got started on construction. They used the money to make the necessary repairs to bring their bathroom back to safe, working condition. After fixing it up, the family enjoys the comfort of their renovated toilet. However, since then, Amudha’s family is now in a better financial situation. Recently, she and her husband decided to add an even better bathroom to their home. The existing one stands alone, removed from the home and not elevated. Consequently, when it rains, the bathroom floods. Having just rained, I could see the puddles and slippery mud around the structure; I understood how this could be a problem. Wanting better, they decided to take on a bigger construction project to build a brand new bathroom in their home. Amudha showed me the spot connected to the side of their home where they’re going to build their new addition. The couple has saved up money and started to work with contractors – they expect the new bathroom to be ready in the next six months. In the time being while they await the new renovation, Amudha and her family are pleased to have the bathroom they fixed up with their loan. Amudha walked me through the mud to take her picture by their existing bathroom. I took her picture and headed out, content that her family had access to proper sanitation and the means to improve their situation even more.