Nirmala Devi earns a living by stitching clothes. As she has only one sewing machine, she is unable to meet the demands of her customers. As a result, she wants to buy two sewing machines and hire two people. In order to buy the two sewing machines, she has applied for a micro-loan. She has five family members and her monthly income is Rs. 3000/-. She is the group leader and she organizes monthly meetings and ensures that all repayments are made on time. Sanju Devi (photo 2) also does stitching work. She has applied for a micro-loan for her tailoring business so that she can buy two stitching machines.She and her husband both presently work in shifts. She hopes to improve her standard of living and meet the growing needs of her family and give her children a proper education and upbringing. She is sitting first from the left in the front row in the group picture. Anu Devi, sitting next to Sanju Devi, sells bangles door-to-door. She wants to have a shop at the marketplace where she can serve more customers and increase her income. In order to do this, she has applied for a micro-loan. She lives in a joint family and has to take care of her family’s needs. Presently, her monthly income is Rs.2,500/-. Nirmala Devi is sitting on the right in the front row. Asha Jha is sitting first from the left in the back row. She has a small electronics shop, and her monthly income is Rs.3,000/-. She has a difficult time getting more clients because of the limited availability of electronic products. She has applied for a micro-loan so that she can expand her business, cater to the needs of her customers, and improve her standard of living. Van Devi, sitting next to Asha Jha, has a tailoring business. Though she has many customers, she only has one stitching machine, and she is unable to adequately serve all of her customers. As a result, she wants to buy two stitching machines and hire one person. To do this, she has applied for a micro-loan for her tailoring business. Presently, her monthly income is Rs.3,000/-, and she has five family members. Lilawati Devi, sitting on the right in the back row, has a small dairy farm. She wants to buy some more cows to cater to the increased demand of her customers. She has applied for a micro-loan for her dairy farm. She lives in a big family of six members and her monthly income is Rs.4,000/-. These entrepreneurs are very dedicated and want to do well not only for themselves but also for their families. They understand the concept of a Joint Liability Group. If any member of the group is unable to repay their micro-loan, the other members will pay on the behalf of the member whose loan is delinquent. (Please note the name of Anu Devi is shown as Kalyani Devi in 'View Members and Loans')