Kamala did not have the opportunity to attend school due to poor economic conditions. Her family struggled even just ensuring they ate at least one meal a day. She got married at the age of fifteen with a man more than half of her age, and who was alcoholic and abusive. Her husband left her after she gave birth to her baby girl.
Being a young single mother, she had to work hard just so she can support her daughter. She worked as a housemaid, washed clothes, cleaned dishes, and did whatever work she was offered. Still, her income wasn’t enough to fulfill their basic needs. But she was determined to give her daughter a proper education so she won’t have to experience the same vicious cycle of poverty.
She eventually learned how to make clothes and continued to work as a domestic helper. After a few years, she was finally able to buy a tailoring machine but still needed to purchase fabric so she could make clothes to sell.
In 2019, she came to know about the My Business, My Freedom program. Using her first micro loan, she was able to start her sewing business, buy an additional sewing machine as well as more clothing items for her shop. As her shop expanded, she was also able to provide employment to a fellow single mom. Now that she’s earning significantly more than what she used to earn working in other people’s homes, she’s more encouraged to expand her business.
The people in her community who used to doubt her and would not entrust her with a loan of even just a thousand rupees (USD 9), now respect and look up to her for exhibiting such courage and hard work. Her daughter now also studies in high school and aspires to become an engineer. This mother and daughter will continue to change not only their world, but also the world around them.
Our Partners
Last month, our co-founders Andrew and Julie Colquhoun went to Nepal to visit our current projects and partners in the region. They spent time with the girls that they have helped to get back to school through fifteen Captivating Village programs, and also checked the school where they will be attending. They also...
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We are happy to announce that Captivating International, with its Philippine field partner HONOR 1000, is launching a project to assist 200 underprivileged children in Manila slum communities. For the first batch, we selected 70 beneficiaries to receive educational assistance based on criteria such as income level, age, and family status. It...
14 SHARES
Jessica used to sell flavored drinks in a different town, but this meant being away from her three young kids. She then made the critical decision to transfer her small store so she could be with them. To do this, she needed additional capital, so she tried applying to our microfinance program. Because she is new...
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From a small grocery store, Mildred worked hard to get to this point. Through our microfinance program, her range of products grew from just pantry essentials to also include household supplies. This year, she also added ready-to-wear clothes to her store. She is grateful for the help of our Philippine field partner, Honor 1000, that contributed...
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Aside from providing loans for Filipinos through our microfinance program in the Philippines, one of the things we aim to do is start fellowship groups so we can provide the microfinance beneficiaries the necessary moral and emotional support as they start their small businesses.
We are grateful for this community and...
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“I got my hope back after I met My Business My Freedom”, says Asha.
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