Bhoj Kamari Ghalan

‘My Struggle Changed my Life’My name is Bhoj Kumari Ghalan, I am 46 years old, and I live in Thaha Municipality, Makwanpur district with my family of five, including my husband, a son, two daughters, and myself. For the past ten years, I have been a share member of Kuteshwari Women Cooperative, receiving saving and credit facilities that have supported me in goat rearing and vegetable farming to manage my household expenses. Life, however, was far from easy. My husband struggled with alcoholism and did not support me either in farming or in household responsibilities. The entire burden of running the house and paying for my children’s education fell on my shoulders alone. At one point, I took a loan of Rs. 100,000 from the cooperative at an interest rate of 14.75% and invested it in goat and vegetable farming. Unfortunately, the returns were much lower than I had hoped. With poor results from the goats, I could not repay the loan on time, and it became very difficult to manage both the debt and daily expenses. Yet, I refused to give up and I kept pushing myself to find a way to improve my family’s living condition. Seeing my difficult financial situation, Shanti Waiba, the Manager of our cooperative, told me about a soft loan scheme supported by Nepal-ease in collaboration with our cooperative. She encouraged me to apply for this opportunity and try investing in a new business so that I could repay the previous loan as well. Without delay, I applied and soon received Rs. 30,000 as a soft loan at only 6% interest. With determination, I invested the entire amount in cauliflower farming on my small plot of land. To my great relief and joy, the hard work paid off. Within just five months, I earned around Rs. 250,000 from selling cauliflower. This success allowed me to repay both the soft loan and my earlier remaining loan Rs 45000 with interest as well as the another loan Rs 120,000 received from money  lender. After clearing the debts, I was even able to save a portion in the cooperative while covering household expenses and my children’s education. Now, I am planning to take another soft loan and expand into goat farming during the off-season for vegetables, making the best use of both opportunities.What once felt like an endless struggle has now transformed into a story of success. Today, I feel proud that I can stand on my own feet, contribute to my family’s well-being, and inspire other women in my community who are facing similar challenges.I sincerely thank Nepal-ease and our cooperative for introducing this soft loan scheme. It has become a lifeline for women like me, helping us not only to survive but to move forward with dignity by starting and improving small-scale business.