Sahayarani and her husband have been in the candle-making business for 15 years. She learned to make candles from her husband, whose father taught him, and who comes from a family of candle suppliers to St. Mary’s church. The couple has two sons—Praveen Kumar, 16, and Jenifer Raj, 13.

Eight years ago a fire destroyed their home, all their belongings and the candle factory. All they rescued were the clothes on their backs and a bicycle. Psychologically, they were totally flattened. The owner of the rented shop repaired the place without charging them, Sahayarani's father gave them 10,000 rupees and supplies to start again, and their wholesale buyers gave them bulk orders to help them. Within 6 months they were back to the same level of production. They are able to purchase raw materials from the government Small Scale Industries Department and employ two people already.

To expand with this loan they would purchase semi-mechanized equipment to speed up manufacturing and make three sizes of candles. They could thus employ three more people and make 1,400 candles in one pouring. The finished candles would also be finer. Sahayarani and her husband only finished 8th standard in school, and they hope both their sons will go to university.