Fortune Smiles upon the Diligent

Once there lived a middle-aged woman named Bilkis. She had three sons. Her

husband was very lazy and he did not do any work. None but she had to work all

day long to ean money for the family. One day she met a group of people who

came to her village from the Grameen Barnk. They said they were interested in

helping the poor people, the landless and the helpless. She learnt from

them that only the poor and landless people were eligible ones to take a

loan from the bank.

However, before they could borrow money, they would have to make 5-6

groups of workers. Bilkis immediately started to look for people. Soon the

necessary groups were formed. All the group members became registered

members of the Grameen Bank project. Bilkis' group elected a Chairperson. The

group Chairperson would be responsible for discipline in the group.

Members would conduct their business with the bank through her.

They were fully aware of the rules and procedures governing the activities

of the group. In this process Bilkis got a loan of three thousand taka. She

invested the amount in a small business. She repaid the loan money and got a

bigger loan. In this way she became self reliant.

Eventually, all her family members started living happily with solvency.