Meena and her husband Devendra live with his extended family on their farm in rural India. They have two children, a daughter Manisha, aged 19 and a son, Mukesh, aged 13.

Devendra drives a tractor for other farmers in the local area. A few years ago, Meena and Devendra took out a small loan through one of Opportunity’s microfinance partners for maintenance and repairs on the vehicle.

Meena works on their farm running a dairy business. She sells cow’s milk to the local community, and grows fruit and vegetables on their fields.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, their tractor business remained closed for almost a year. The family struggled financially and subsequently went through most of the money they had saved.

During this time, tragedy struck the family. Devendra’s brother passed away suddenly, and his three children were now in the care of Meena and Devendra.

“Our quality of life was not good at that time,” said Meena. “We could barely manage to pay for food, medication and other basic requirements for our family.”

They decided to take out another small loan to help with the education expenses. Now with a total of five children to send to school, the family used the loan to get the children back to school when they reopened.

“We took a loan of Rs.31,000 (A$570) for school fees, books and stationery, so all five children could be educated,” said Meena.

Manisha graduated high school in 2021 and is now studying a Bachelor of Arts at university, and Mukesh is in Year 8.

“It is important to me that they get an education, so they become independent and not face hardships in life,” says Meena. “We are very thankful.”

Because of the loan we are able to give a better education to our children.”

The tractor business is now back on track as well, with the family doubling their income. Meena hopes that Manisha will become a teacher or work as a civil servant. Mukesh hopes to be a policeman one day.

Thanks to the generosity of Opportunity supporters, they can write their own story and have the future they dream of.

To support more families like Meena's, please consider giving to our Back to School 2023 appeal.