Binala Lama

‘I am able to stand on my own now’     My name is Bimala Lama, 52 years old, and I live in Indrasarowar Rural Municipality with my family of six including my husband, son, daughter, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, and myself. For years, I ran a small grocery shop to support my household. However, due to our weak economic condition and limited sales, it was a daily struggle to manage household expenses.I am a member of Gatishil Sanakisan Krishi Sahakari, an agriculture-based cooperative in my community. One day, during our group meeting, I learned about a soft loan program supported by Nepal-ease in collaboration with our cooperative. I immediately saw this as an opportunity to improve my shop and my income. Without delay, I visited the cooperative office, discussed my plan with the officer, and applied for the loan. Soon after, I received Rs. 50,000 as a soft loan. I invested the entire amount into expanding my grocery shop adding more stock, varieties, and essential items that customers in my village needed. Today, my sales have grown significantly. I now earn an average monthly profit of around Rs. 15000, which not only helps me comfortably manage my family’s daily expenses but also allows me to save regularly in the cooperative, for the future.Alongside my business, I also serve the community as a Female Community Health Volunteer, reaching rural women and children with basic health awareness and support to improve maternal and child health contributing in reducing child and maternal mortality rate in my community. This gives me immense satisfaction, as I can now contribute both economically and socially to my community.What once felt like a constant struggle has now turned into a story of growth, self-reliance, and giving back.Thank you to Nepal-ease and the cooperative for this soft loan scheme, which has been a crucial means of livelihood by enabling needy rural women like me to start and improving small-scale