With her own water connection, Maheshwari's life has improved significantly

Maheshwari Boopathi was quick to welcome us warmly into her veranda and offer us homemade lemonade as respite from the hot, central Tamil Nadu summer. She was in the middle of setting out food for her goats, but Maheshwari agreed to chat with us about the loan she had taken from Milaap lenders to build a water connection. She assured us that the loan was very useful for her.

Before building her connection, Maheshwari and her family would fetch water from the public panchayat pipe. Though the pipe was less than 200 meters from their home, it was quite a distance away from where Maheshwari kept her animals, who made up the bulk of the household’s water needs. To provide their family’s milk and an extra source of income, Maheshwari keeps three goats and a cow. She also works hard as a field laborer. She lives with her husband, daughter (age 10), and two sons (ages 9 and 6), and everyone used to help with carrying water from the public tap. They would have to cross the street to do so, which Maheshwari would worry about when her kids were younger. 

Eager for a more convenient and personal water supply, Maheshwari took out a loan from GUARDIAN, Milaap’s field partner that funds water project loans in Tamil Nadu. Though she didn’t run into any problems during construction, she told me the family had to contribute money from their pockets as well. When I asked to see the tap, I was surprised that Maheshwari walked me down the street about 100 meters, where the pipe stood close to her animals. Though her home is not far from the public tap, I understood why she wanted closer tap to feed her goats and cow with. Now, with their own piped connection, Maheshwari can handle caring for the animals on her own. “After this success, next, I’d like to take a toilet loan,” she expressed, happy with the outcome of her first loan. She thanks Milaap lenders and looks forward to working with them again.