Mina was married at the age of 15. Now, at 32, her and her husband have a daughter and two sons. She was from a poor farming family. She tells us her story. “I started a ‘Chatpat’ (a quick sour, chilly snack) selling business with an investment of about Rs. 2,000 (US$17) as that’s all my family could afford. I was able to earn around Rs. 1,000 (US$8) daily and although this was not much, it boosted my confidence. That was 6 years ago. I wanted to grow my business but I wasn’t able to get a loan.”
“A year ago, I learned about the My Business My Freedom (MBMF) program through the visit of Laxmi (MBMF Project Manager). She explained that there was an opportunity for me to grow my business with a microloan through this project and the interest rate was low. I joined a group of 10 other women like me. After some training and mentoring, I was given my first loan of Rs. 30,000 (US$260) to expand my business. My income has doubled since then. I have even begun to save little by little for my children’s future. My daily income is now about Rs. 2,000 (US$17). My daughter also helps me in the business. I am now confident that I will be able to send my children to school and complete their education and I am able to manage household expenses better than before. The lessons taught to me by Laxmi has been very helpful to manage personal financial needs too.”
“The My Business My Freedom project has changed my life and I feel motivated when Laxmi comes to us and encourages us. I will continue in this business and grow it for many years to come.”
The My Business My Freedom project gives women who are stuck in the cycle of poverty, the opportunity to become self-sustainable. This is an important part of helping reduce the risk of her and her children falling prey to trafficking.
Project Partners
Jiniu Yiqu is one of the many students who are able to continue their studies through the One More Year Scholarship Program. This is her letter to her sponsors.
47 SHARES
During follow-up sessions with the child's relatives and neighbors, a senior member of 3AN noticed a recurring theme: the dire need for clean drinking water.
38 SHARES
Radha, 16 years old, is one of 5 children in her family. Unfortunately, all of them did not have the opportunity to attend school. The family does not own any land, and their house is built on someone else's property.
Radha's mother works as a wage laborer on other's...
46 SHARES
Ganga Damai joined Shakti Women's group after My Business My Freedom (MBMF) reached her village in Nepal three years ago.
She is 46 years old and has six members in her family. The main source of their family's income before she...
32 SHARES
One of the things we are doing in our microfinance program in the Philippines is getting together through fellowship and meetings of our program's existing members.
Last June 2 marked "Bayan Bayanan Fellowship's" first fellowship meeting. They are the first group formed in their area. One of our existing good payers from...
64 SHARES
Dolores is one of the families we help in the Manila Slum Project, our back to school program in the Philippines. This project aims to assist 200 underprivileged children in Manila slum communities.
When we visited Dolores' home, she was preparing the flowers she would sell in the streets that morning. She...
39 SHARES
