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A Jar Full of Coins and a Family’s life transformed for Ever

With the coins this kind donor found in a large jar in his home, he sponsored a cow for one of our impoverished mothers. Nandri provided the mother with a micro finance loan enabling her to buy the cow which will give her family food, in the form of dairy products, an income from the products she can sell and in the future, a calf which will further boost the income of the family. Because of the increase in income, the children will be able to afford to continue their education. What a difference a cow makes in the lives of our poor families. This mother will never forget how a jar full of coins changed her life.

Our generous donor called his cow Aideen after a family member!  What would you name your cow?

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Nandri Micro Loans Continue to Change Lives

 

In July, 52 Nandri mothers received life changing micro finance loans which would help them start their own business or give them the finance to send their children to third level education.   This programme gives a lifeline to our impoverished mothers and their families.   As the mothers pay back their loans each month, these repayments enable us to lend to more than 50 new mothers the following month.    The cycle of success of our micro finance loans continues to grow and flourish bringing hope and a future to new families each month.  NANDRI,  changing lives.

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Volunteer Tony Shaju experiences teaching and living in a rural village in Tamil Nadu

It was a typically hot and humid Monday morning when I set off from the Nandri centre with Joe the Nandri India CEO.  Being honest I didn’t really know my destination, only that it would be quite rural and unlike anything I had experienced before. After driving past many towns and some bigger villages we started to head to a more mountainous area until we finally arrived in the village of Udaiyarkuppam. To my surprise and delight there stood a St. Anthony’s church with the parish house beside it where I would be staying for the next week or so. I would be living with the parish priest, Fr Arokiya Raj, who thankfully spoke English well and helped me to adjust.

The next morning, I was awoken by a what sounded like a large crowd. It was in fact a bell and then the public-address system from the church which calls out the time followed by a prayer or small bible reading at various times during the day. Unfortunately for me it started at 6AM!

Across the yard from the church was the local school where Joe had suggested that I could help teach English while I was there. I hastily met the young principal, Karthik, and before I knew it I was officially a teacher at Anthony R.C.S Middle School. Suddenly in front of me I had 40 odd expectant kids, looking back curiously at this overawed foreigner. This was a Tamil medium school so the standard of English and exposure to it were rather poor.

Nevertheless, me and my students in 7th and 8th standard managed to communicate effectively with a mix of English, broken Tamil and extravagant hand movements! The enthusiasm and eagerness from the kids was fantastic as was the competitiveness which was on display when playing English learning games in class.

Break times were filled mostly with playing kabaddi, the local sport, where you try to tag the opposing team and run back to your team’s half before they catch and take you down. I had resisted many calls from the students to be a ‘raider’ but eventually gave in. It can get quite rough but thankfully they understood me saying “soft” before they gleefully took me down!

There are around 260 children, mainly Dalits, in the school and each day ends with everyone outside singing the national anthem before heading home which was quite different to Ireland. Admittedly it was daunting at first having never been in a comparable situation but I feel it was a worthwhile and beneficial experience for me and hopefully the students too!

My evenings were equally busy as I went around the nearby villages to conduct surveys as part of my work with Nandri. So, I was visiting mothers and their families who had received loans from Nandri 3 or 4 years ago and helping to determine the impact on their lives. This was another new experience from me as I was exposed to a different side of India than have seen on previous visits. I had help to complete this work in the form of Selvam, a college student in Chennai who is from the local area. His help to translate and converse with the mothers combined with his local knowledge were invaluable. Initially Selvam and I went on foot around Udaiyarkuppum and as I walked up to the homes of some of the mothers I could see the cow they owned- bought with the loan from Nandri. The cow provides them with an asset and essentially becomes an earning member of the family. The milk will usually be sold to a cooperative and so provides a regular monthly income source for the family and also future calves can be sold. Thus, I could see the direct benefit of the Nandri loan for some of the mothers as the extra income was used to help take care of living costs. Indeed some of it was put towards the educational fees for their children. It was also nice a surprise when knocking on a door and seeing it opened by one of my students, some of whom are supported by Nandri.

Of course, as I was travelling around the villages- sometimes with Selvam on his little motorbike- I met others who were struggling more. Some are constrained by chronic medical ailments or a lack of access and affordability to treatment and generally there is a shortage of work. This is in part due to Tamil Nadu being in the midst of its worst drought in 140 years. Naturally the shortage of water affects daily living but also employment opportunities as most people are agricultural daily labourers, thus relying on the land. The struggle is not helped currently by the governments inadequate support despite national protests from Tamil Nadu farmers.

I must also mention the generosity of the villagers as I was travelling around to their homes. I’m grateful to their willingness to help us locate fellow group mothers on our list and inform us of any issues. I was also offered numerous snacks, fruits, tea and juice which was very welcome in the scorching heat. Indeed, I had the opportunity to have dinner in some of the mother’s houses and taste some local dishes which was nice- despite being far spicier than I’m used to! I was also able to attend a local Hindu festival one day which included inserting metal hooks into the backs of some worshippers and walking on fire followed by a procession. I had seen some similar things on t.v before but it was interesting to see it up close.

Overall it was an eye-opening experience to live in a truly rural area of India and see some of the people that Nandri support. I’ll certainly miss interacting with the imaginative kids from the school and the ability to talk with locals and learn about their lives while I definitely won’t miss the early morning ‘alarm clock’!  I’m told by locals that when the rains come the area is lush green and quite scenic and I look forward to returning sometime and seeing it for myself.

Tony Shaju

 

 

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Successful Microfinance Implementation

In 2012 we started our #micro-finance program. We provide 90% of the cost of purchasing a cow or sewing machine to impoverished mainly #Dalit mothers.  These women live in rural communities, generally without access to clean water or sanitation or power.

Mothers self-help groups are the important crux of these communities. We have over 3,000 mothers in our programs and each mother belongs to a mother’s self-help group . Each group consists of 15 to 20 members. The group meets each month. Each mother/member pays a small monthly subscription and an annual subscription. They each save Rs.100 (approx. $1.50) per month.  For many of them, this is a days’ wages.

All the members’ savings  are re-lent each month to members of their own group.  All loan decisions are made collectively by the group  and all decisions are carefully minuted and careful records are kept of subscriptions, loans borrowings, etc.  Each member has a passbook, which shows her subscriptions  loans and borrowings.

Our mothers proudly show off their passbooks and their record, particularly of savings. Each group manages its own savings and loans but Nandri manages the income generation micro finance program. A mother who wants a micro-finance loan has to apply through her group. Her group will decide if they think she is capable of repaying the loan. The group will guarantee her loan. This peer pressure has insured 99% repayment rate on over 1,500 loans to date.  This is a key factor in the success of our program.

Our impoverished Dalit mothers would not be normally be allowed inside a bank never mind get a loan. Loan interest rates in India could be 2% to 3% per month from a bank and treble that from money lenders.  We charge 1% interest per month on the reducing balance and this has become an important part of the revenue of Nandri to allow the program to continue indefinitely and to ensure the program is properly managed and maintained.  We have developed our own lending application within #Salesforce, which is a corporate level CRM system.

Most of the mothers purchase a cow with their loan and the immediate income from the sale of milk from the cow means they can repay the loan, while also having sufficient money left over for other family purchases and also milk for much-needed family nutrition. They will sell the male calves as Indians don’t generally eat beef. Female calves will go on to become a valuable mother.

Today we have a fund of Rs. 12 million or about $150,000.  $50,000 of this was provided in the form of a grant by #LCIF.    Repayments enable us to issue between 30 and 40 loans every month. The income, in the form of interest and subscriptions, from our mothers, ensures the long-term viability of this program.

Fred Crowe

 

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#LCIF – stories with no names or photos

IMG_7209.JPGWe recently received a grant from Lions Clubs International Foundation #LCIF  for the purpose of giving loans to some of our mothers.  In July we issued 25 loans and in August we issued 15+1. The +1 was a loan made possible by the loan repayments from the loans given in July.

We have over 3,000 mothers in our mother’s self help groups. This #LCIF fund will be used for loans for widows and single mothers.

Here are some of the stories of these women who work tirelessly for their children.

Mother 1 – has lost her husband because of alcoholism. She has a child who studies in 10th standard. She works as coolie in Chennai for a very meager income. She is homeless and lives in her parental house which is totally damaged. Through this loan, she will buy a cow. Her mother will look after the cow and generate income. This will be an additional income for the family to comfortably meet their basic needs and the educational requirements of her child.

Mother 2-  husband died in accident five years ago. She had three children, two daughters and a son. Both her daughters have died. Her son abandoned her after his marriage leaving her penniless. She struggled for her own survival.  The cow loan has restored her dignity with livelihood to become self-reliant and self-sufficient.

Mother 3-  husband died due to alcoholism. She has got three female children and all of them are studying. One of her child is doing nursing course. She works as a daily wage earner with insufficient income hardly enough to meet all her family needs and the education of her of her children. The loan has helped her buy a cow and generate income to create the desired economic changes in her family with proper food, health and educational needs of her children.

Mother 4 – husband succumbed to death due to alcoholism.  She has got three children and all of them are studying. She is the sole bread winner in the family. With her meager income, she was finding it very difficult to educate her children. Through this loan, she will set up a small petty shop which will bring an additional income to the family. This will enable her to create assets to provide proper education for her children.

Mother 5 – husband died of sudden cardiac arrest. She has got three children and finds it very difficult to give them proper food and education. Her children are doing 3rd level education. Though she is uneducated, she wants her children to be educated well. She has got cow loan and will generate adequate income out of this to educate her children without much financial constraints.

This is the mother who got the loan from the repayments

Mother 16 husband abandoned her 10 years ago. She has a son studying in 9th grade.   She is an agricultural laborer. Due to decreasing nature of agricultural activities caused by the constant failure of monsoon and the drought situation in the district, she suffers from seasonal unemployment. Even when there is work she gets very low income hardly enough to meet both their needs. Life for her and her son is always at stake. The for a cow will bring a ray of hope into the lives both, she and her son, creating sustained source of income for them. With this assured source of income she will be able to envision a bright future for her son with good education and employment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Visit to Nandri Centre by Caroline Keane

Caroline with mothersCaroline who lives in Ireland was visiting Southern India. She contacted us about children’s clothes which she had brought to India. The clothes have now been distributed to some of our children and she also visited our centre and sent the following email.

 

My visit to a Nandri Mothers’ Self Help Group meeting

More than 3,000 women in some of the poorest areas of rural Tamil Nadu now have their own successful little businesses thanks to the help of Joseph Abraham (Joe), managing trustee of Child Aid Trust which is Nandri’s partner in India and Nandri’s Micro Finance programme, funded by Irish donors and recently by #LCIF (Lions Clubs International Foundation).

Yesterday, I had the privilege of visiting Nandri in person, meeting some of these inspiring women at their monthly group meeting and hearing their stories.

Some of the women have received a modest loan (€350) from Child Aid Trust/Nandri to start their own income. One of the women I met proudly told me about her tailoring business, another has bought a cow, while a third lady is now making shoes. Because of their micro loans and hard work, they are all now able to provide better lives for their children.

caroline keane with mothersAs well as these micro-finance loans all of the mothers save Rs.100 each month. This is about the amount of money which they earn for a days work in the rice fields. any mother can also borrow from their own group. All of the savings and repayments are relent each month.

It was lovely to see all the women smartly turned out in their colourful lilac-and-white sari uniforms which they wear to their monthly meetings.  These Dalit mothers are proud to belong to a group.  They clearly enjoy these get-togethers where they save each month, repay their installments, share their experiences and catch up with each other. From start to finish they were full of enthusiasm, chatter and smiles.

I was particularly impressed by how well managed the programme is and how supportive the women are of each other. Every loan and repayment is carefully and clearly accounted for by a local Nandri staff member using the individual and group reporting set up by Joe. The women have their own individual loan account books which, as well as repayment details, also include a page where they write what their children would like to study in the future, e.g. to be a nurse or engineer. These mothers are determined to make their businesses a success so that their children can have a better education and future than they have had.

Nandri do not receive any interest or fees from these loans. Instead, the women contribute a small 1% fee into a fund towards college education for children of members within their own group.

Although working on shoestring and also running other activities, Joe and Nandri are aiming to have 4,000 mothers and families benefiting from their membership this time next year. Impressive indeed, especially since this programme was first started four years ago, in 2012.

Aside from the Micro Finance programme, Nandri’s other local initiatives including a sponsor a child programme, evening tuition schools and skills training for adults.

Joe and Nandri also have other great initiatives and ideas which they can implement with a little more funding. They are strong champions of social improvement through education and community empowerment because it works. It was really remarkable to see first-hand how they are experts at stretching even the smallest donation to make a huge difference.

If you’re thinking of donating to a charity that can make your money go a long way, I recommend without hesitation http://www.nandri.org

Caroline Keane

 

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Our 2015 Graduates

2015-09-19 12.21.4520 years ago when Tony Barron started what was then called Child Aid Ireland . His objective was to convince and help families to keep their children in education. In those days a child could leave education at 9 or 10 years of age. Nowadays the parents realise that their children as far as possible must go on to 3rd level. Through our mothers self-help groups with 2000 + mothers we must take some credit for that realisation on the importance of education.

Three years ago we realised that many of our families could not afford the upfront fees to send their children for third level education. We introduced a micro-finance programme where they get a loan for the fees and repay a small amount each month, while the child is in education and then the graduate will complete the payment once he or she has finished.

2015-09-12 13.41.27

This has been very successful. This year, 70 children have graduated. In India, families stick together and the graduates will send money back to their impoverished parents. Of course in rural India where arranged marriages are the norm, the wife will often move in with the husband’s family to look after his parents as they age.

In September we met the students photographed above. We explained to them the importance of paying back and many of them agreed once the got a job they would sponsor a child. In fact, a number of them signed a standing order to start the process. Already the money committed by standing order will send three further 18-year-olds to college in 2015

Fred Crowe

 

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Microfinance works


Last month we handed out 35 loan cheques to mothers who will buy a cow. We also gave out 45 loans to mothers to fund their children’s third level education.

Since we started our micro finance program we have issued 1100 loans to our mothers in order for them to earn an income and to improve their overall living standard and to fund their children’s education. We have a 100% repayment rate and our loan book is now such that the repayments every month enable us to issue 25 new loans.

The mothers learn how to manage money, they earn the self respect of their family and their peers. They know that every repayment every month enables another mother to get closer to receiving her loan.

Over the last few years we have been changing the culture from one of our mothers receiving handouts to one of receiving loans. They are beginning to see the benefits of this.

A major benefit for us is our sponsors money is used more efficiently. The same euro is recycled time and time again

Many mothers join our programs in order to benefit from our child sponsorship program. (handout)

Our objective is that within three years of joining a mothers self help group a mother will receive a loan to purchase a cow.

The income she can learn from a cow is way above the handout we give in the form of child sponsorship. Increasingly also we are only including in our sponsorship program children of widows or from broken homes or single parents. We try to ensure that the money goes to those most needy.

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Nandri ensures a student nurse completes her education

Antoni (not her real name) has been living in an orphanage since she was four years of age. Her uncle paid her fees to go to nursing college for the first year. Three months after the start of the second year it transpired that he was not interested or not in a position to pay for the second year’s fees so she was evicted from the college.

In February 2014 we met her and agreed to give her Rs.25,000 (€350) for her 2nd years fees and the orphanage agreed to pay her accommodation fees. We thought she could get some kind of bank loan but evidently the banks will only give a loan if the student applies in the first year. Sounds a bit silly but that’s the way it is.

We have have to repeat the loan for the third year and we will have to give her a loan for the fourth year as well.

Most of our third level education micro finance loans will be partially repaid from the date the child starts college. In fact the repayments are generally currently enough to cover a full years  years loans.

Most of our loans are for Rs.10,000 per annum. The loans to the student nurse are unique but makes the difference between her finishing her nursing education and not doing so. And eventually when she repays us the money can be used to finance another nurse or engineer or whatever

Fred Crowe

CEO

 

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Fund Raiser in Perth Australia

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Well done to Caoilfhionn Crowe and her friends who held a fundraiser with an Indian theme for the night. Caoilfhionn had brought back from India a dozen saris, one for each of her friends.

They raised enough money to provide a family income generation loan to 5 families. The families will be presented with a cheque by Caoilfhionn in India on Sunday, 25 January.

They will probably use the money to buy a cow which will provide the family with nutrition and milk and enough money to repay the loan over 20 months. At that point a second family will benefit from the money which was raised.

Well done to all concerned