Struggling Member

            I interviewed a Struggling Member on the last morning in the village. The Struggling Member program is a newer program that allows beggars to take special loans from the bank. These loans accumulate no interest and can be paid back in any time period according to the borrowers needs. These loans are usually very small but allow for a beggar to purchase a small amount of goods to sell door to door instead of begging. The bank does nothing to collect these loans and the beggar is not required to pay them back if she is unable. The lady I met, Aysa Katum, borrowed 500 taka (about $7) to purchase some spices and candy that she sold door to door. She had already paid back her first loan and was currently on her second loan. Aysa had a specifically tragic story to tell; She was a widow and her 2 sons that lived nearby refused to take her into their home and support her. She guessed she was around 60 to 65 years old and was permanently crippled from working long hours bending over in the rice fields. She did have a small one-room shack to live in that was built for her by some local villagers who all chipped in a small amount of money to provide her with shelter. One of her sons lingered several feet away during our interview listening to our conversation. When we asked him why he wasn’t supporting his mother, he answered that he couldn’t support his own wife and children but had offered to let his mother come eat at his house before. Aysa quickly responded that she couldn’t eat at his house because the next day he would come and take any food or money that she had as repayment for the dinner. Although Aysa is still in a very tragic situation, the Grameen Bank Struggling Member program has really helped her out. She can now make enough money to buy rice for herself to eat and has access to clean water from a Grameen installed tube well nearby. Grameen also gave her a young goat to take care of. This gives Aysa a sense of purpose and will also generate money for her once the goat has kids that she can sell. At the end of the interview I asked Aysa if she was angry – angry  at her current situation and at her son for not supporting her as the Muslim culture dictates. She pulled her young grandchild close to her as she said that “No, I am not angry, I am helpless.”