Leiyaphi Angkang

Leiyaphi Angkang is a 48 year-old woman from Chatric Khunou village in Ukhrul district. There are three members in her family. Her husband was engaged in poultry and pig farming. They earned a monthly income of Rs. 10,000 - 15,000 from these activities.

Their poultry business could not survive for a longer period due to increased competition and many suppliers. They had no other source of earning. During that phase, she made use of her weaving skills which she had learned from her mother. She began with selling woven clothes door-to-door for the survival of her family. From the meager savings earned from the weaving and poultry business, she opened a small shop in the year 2008 near her locality.

After two years, Leiyaphi wanted to further expand her shop but due to insufficient funds, she was unable to execute her plans. Through her neighbours, she came to know about Volunteers for Village Development (VVD) and the financial support they provide for the betterment of community members. She became a member of VVD and took her first loan of INR 10,000 in the year 2010 for expanding her business. Presently, her income from the shop is around INR 30,000.

Leiyaphi says, “Being a business woman I saw a lot of changes in my status. As I started contributing towards the household income, the financial stress was reduced. This led my husband to stop drinking and it’s a big achievement for me”.

Her continuous association with VVD led her to avail benefits of training programs on financial and business management skill. Also, she has been selected as the President of (SAMBU) Raiping Shanao Long Tangkhul Eastern area because of her strong communication skills and leadership quality.

She attended the business management skill training in two phases scheduled in April 2016 and 2017, conducted by Friends of Women World Banking FWWB). While sharing her experience she says “I learned about record keeping, budget making and ways to increase savings, earlier I was able to save INR 200 - 300 rupees only but now I have been able to increase my savings by 40% on a monthly basis. Now I feel more confident and empowered.”

Leiyaphi has many more aspirations and is determined to achieve her dreams, “I believe that I can better organize things now when it comes to managing my finances; for this, all thanks goes to FWWB team.”