Deepak Godiya’s mother died when he was just four years old. His father worked hard to provide for the family but it was often difficult to find employment. There were days when they simply could not afford to out food on the table.
As Deepak grew up he dropped out of school and began helping his father with laboring jobs but they still had ongoing financial worries. Deepak joined an INF Self Help Group in his village. He was given a grant to start a shop, which has been successful and helped provide for the family and educate his children.
This is Deepak’s story…
In keeping with cultural tradition, Deepak was married at the age of 13 to an 11-year-old girl. His wife immediately joined the family and, several years on, they had two children.
Deepak’s young family lived in poverty with his father in a small house. He dreamt of a better life with financial stability but each day it was difficult to provide for the family’s basic needs. As a younger father, Deepak worked at a brick factory, a wood factory and travelled to India to pick up seasonal work.
In 2013 INF began facilitating Self-Help Groups in Deepak’s village in Kapilvastu District. Deepak joined a group and began going along to regular meetings and training workshops. They discussed topics including personal health and hygiene; education; reforestation; sanitation and income generation.
During the income generation discussion Deepak was nominated by his group to receive a business grant. INF provided a grant of 10,000.00 NPR to Deepak, which he doubled with his savings and set up a snack shop. Deepak and his wife now run the shop together. They take large orders from organisations such as INF for events and are now able to support their daily expenses as well as sending their children to school.
Each monsoonal season Deepak still travels to India for work while business slows at the shop but this is now an additional financial support.
“The business has changed our entire family’s livelihood,” says Deepak. “I’ve gained confidence being able to educate my children and feed the family. I hope to one day expand the business further.”