Devi and Her Ducks

Devi Gaire of Chitwan District is a courageous, determined, and resourceful woman. Devi had tried many strategies to protect herself and her son from her alcoholic husband’s abuse. She called the police and had him taken into custody, but to no avail. She tried to move to her mother’s house; but he followed and threatened her. Then Devi’s brother gave her a small plot of land to build a new home; but her husband fought with him until he took his offer back. Finally, Devi concluded that she could only escape if she earned enough money herself to buy a house beyond the reach of her husband. This realization emboldened her to join an ADWAN Women’s Group in order to benefit from the micro-lending program.

Even though Devi owns no land and works as a day laborer, she managed to save NR 300 ($3) to become a member of the Saraswoti Women’s Group. (The fee is required of new members to maintain fairness in the group; so that new members would not be benefiting from the considerable sum saved by the group without contributing anything substantial themselves.) With a NR 5,000 ($50) loan from the group Devi purchase two ducks and a cage and started a duck-rearing business. Devi has already earned NR 9,000 ($90) from selling eight ducks and still has eight ducks left. She is optimistic that soon she will have enough saved to move to that far away house where she and her son can live in peace.