Jakhanitar is a small village under Chisapani VDC in Ramechhap district of Nepal. The village can be reached after one hour drive from Manthali, the district headquarters of Ramechhap. The village is predominantly comprised of indigenous people-the Majhis. For the purpose of launching PAF program, a total of 22 households from the village were grouped into a community organization called Jhakanitar community organization in 2006. Srijansil Yuwa Samaj supported the CO in developing its proposal for income generating activities such as goat, pig rearing, running groceries and vegetable farming. Once the CO got registered under the PAF, as facilitated by the Partner Organization Srijansil Yuwa Samaj, the CO received a total of NPR 3,50,000 to mobilize as revolving fund among the member households of the CO then they distribute the amount among themselves as a loan.
Probably due to negligence or to the lack of knowledge on the part of community members about the obligation of the members to keep the amount revolving among the members or to partner organization’s disregard to provide service to the community organization, the CO members did not pay back the loans. Years passed by, however, the members did not take an initiative to pay back the amounts they borrowed. Now, the amount they received from PAF as revolving fund could not be utilized in line with the concept of revolving fund envisaged by PAF. Two of the members of the CO did not pay the amount for six years and rest of the others who had borrowed the amount as loan did not pay for four years. However, although infrequently, the social mobilizer of the PO continued to make visits to the CO as if the CO was mobilizing the revolving fund and implementing its programmes satisfactorily. Some member households of the CO were deprived of access to the fund.
Since FSCN launched PAF II sub-project in the CO, its Ramechhap district based DC informed about the situation and functionality of the CO to the social mobilizer of the PO. Once OCAT was applied in the CO, a lot of information was derived through it. With the realization that the CO was not functioning at all when it comes the concept of revolving fund of PAF, the DC discussed this aspect in his first coaching and counseling class in September, 2013. The DC also discussed in detail the procedure and provisions of PAF implementation guideline including the provision of their organizational statute. Such a discussion became the CO members claim, an eye opener for them. Hence, the members got positive and interested to recover and pay back the outstanding dues including 5% interest as per their statute.
Following the first round of coaching and counseling, the CO was able to collect a total of NPR 1,80,000 from 9 CO members and after the second coaching and counseling class was taken, additional NPR 54,000 was recovered from additional 3 CO members. CO members now started to express their views that if their SM was regular to their organization and that if they were informed of the provisions in time, they would mobilize their funds properly from the beginning. They now have sought help from the DC to ensure that now on their SM’s visits to the CO increases. Before the DC’s initiation to recover the amount, PO and its social mobilizer were seen pessimistic that the amount distributed among the members could be recovered and mobilized. However, as the DC informed the positive development taking place in regard to recovering the long outstanding amount. The PO and its SM started to seem more positive and interested to fully recover the amount. They even visited the CO along with the DC on 11th January, 2014. They are of the opinion now that they would work in coordination with the FSCN DC.
The CO now has deposited the recovered amount in their bank account and invested among the CO members who were deprived of receiving the fund from their CO as loan.