Protagonists

Our social impact in first person

Nagamma

My name is Nagamma and I am a widow. I have received a buffalo to support myself and my family from the RDT. I can now sell milk twice a day to the dairy and…

Rajamma

My name is Rajamma and I am a widow. I had no income and worked in the fields to support my two children. With the help of RDT, I have started my own kiosk. They…

Alimata Sadia Sawadogo

“I am very happy and grateful for the bike, which allows me get to school on time.” I’m Alimata and I’m studying the second year of my secondary education. Thanks to my new bike I…

Junali Badayak

“I heard the mMitra calls everyday, and somehow I didn’t feel alone.” I’m Junali and I’m 25 year old. I came to Mumbai from Guwahati, Assam after the birth of my daughter Kanishka in 2015.…

Emile Ndione

I am a 59-years old man from Thies, Senegal. I am married, with 3 kids, and have a shop in the central market of Thies. I sell various food products and my stock comes from…

Fouzia Anwar

I’m running a successful business of kids’ garments in Sharqpur city. My husband was a Government employee and was the sole bread earner of the household. Soon after his retirement, we faced a financial crisis.…

Makalita

When my husband abandoned my five children and me 25 years ago, I decided to start a business. I asked for a first loan of $480 from the microfinance institution SPBD Tonga with which I…

Talilagi

I have a small plantation in Faleseela Uta. SPBD, like many other women members of this microfinance institution, has given me financial freedom. Before I had to wait for my husband to get paid so…

Suniti

I was born in 1969 and live with five other people from my family in Tanjung Pasir, Tangerang, in the Java region. I had a small business selling fried rice in front of a school.…

Siam

I was born in 1973 and I live with my family in Kampung Melayu, Tangerang, on the island of Java. Before, I had a small food stall in front of the house. MBK Ventura provided…

Zhuro

I was born in Isfara in 1979. I spent five years as a teacher for blind children and later emigrated to Moscow and worked as a maid. After a time in Russia, I decided to…

Antonia Huamán

I am Antonia, I am married, I take care of ten people from my family and I live in Chinchero, Cusco. My business consists of the production of sheep wool fabrics. I follow ancient methods…

Nunu Merebashvili

I live in Tsnori. We could say that, at my age, I am an example of a woman entrepreneur. My highly successful case is not the most common: With the help of several microcredits I…

Khalide

Here the land is very poor and it is impossible to cultivate it. Animal breeding is the only possible business. With the Azercredit microcredit, we started by buying three calves, which helped us a lot…

Eunice Wanjiru

I had wanted to start my own business for a long time but I did not have the necessary funds. I started with a microcredit of less than €100 from the Kenya Women Finance Trust,…

Genet Tesfaye

I had to walk four hours to go to school and four more hours to return, going up and down mountains. Next year, I will be in the eleventh grade of secondary school but I…

Laini Mwakatundu

My husband, my three children and I live on a small farm in the Kyela district, about a thousand kilometres from the capital Dar es Salaam. Before our only source of income was agriculture and…

Obidov Komil Okilovich

I started working as a shepherd and in the maintenance of bee colonies in Ganchi. I went to the microfinance institution JOVID in 2004 to obtain a microcredit of €328 with which I increased the…

Aicha Guig

I am the mother of five children and I live in the village of Imzoughen, located on the mountainous road between Marrakech and Ouarzazate. Being illiterate does not prevent me from having great skills in…

Guadalupe Gómez

I have a food stall at my house, which I attend in the afternoon and evening. I am married and I have three children. Over time, I was acquiring a wide clientele and in the…

Regina Bayiyana

I am a widow, 48 years old, and almost could not go to school. As a consequence of it all, I had almost no opportunities to access a good job that would allow me to…

Merry

I am married and I have three children with whom I live in the Morogoro district. We were in a lot of trouble to pay for my children’s school, so I decided to open a…

Zahu Birhane

I am a widow, 50 years old, and I live in the village of Adi Sarawat, in the Adwa district, Tigray region. I have four sons and three daughters. Two of them are already married,…

Dorila Pineda

I am a married woman and a mother of four children from Taulabe. I wanted to start a grocery and kiosk business. In 2000, I became a member of the Cooperativa Mujeres Unidas Ltda (COMIXMUL)…

Anna

I live in Mpumalanga and I run a small restaurant. Thanks to a loan from the Small Enterprise Foundation I have added the sale of eggs and chicken to my establishment. As a consequence of…

Doris Omorogbe

I live in Benin City, I am married with seven children. My neighbours advised me to attend an informal meeting that the LAPO microfinance entity held in the area. This meeting was a turning point…

José Denís Álvarez

I am originally from Camoapa, Boaco. I start the day very early serving clients in my tire sales stand. Meanwhile, my younger brother oversees another business. Sometimes, when they are not at University, my nephew…

Valérie Belem

I am 33 years old, I am married, and I am a mother of three children: Two girls of 12 and 9, and a boy of two years. I am very happy to work in…

Willy Mazimpaka

I study S-5 at Group Scolaire Gatagara, in Butare, Rwanda. I get very good grades. I love research and enjoy reading and learning from the “Medical Laboratory.” I would like to continue my studies at…

Uuriintsolom

I am a nine-year-old girl who goes to the village school. I am a very good student. My father abandoned me, my mother, my 18-year-old sister, and my brothers aged 16 and 13. They all…

Tihun Gebeye

I am 18 years old and I live in Robit with my mother and my three brothers and, although I have no children, I take care of my niece who lives with us. My house,…

Temuleen

My mother abandoned me when I was very young and since then I live with my grandparents. They are retired and receive a pension of $68 a month. My 38-year-old uncle is very ill and…

Technique Nsabimana

I did not know my parents. They abandoned me in the fields when I was a baby and I was raised by an older woman. When she died and I was already a boy, her…

Samuel Nduwayezu

I study N-4 at the Nyakibere school in Karusi province. It is the last course before university. I have a sister and five brothers. Being able to borrow the books from the Gatonde library during…

Sakuntalamma

My husband Krishna Naik suffers from an infection in the intestine that renders him unable to do physical work. He has been taking medications but it seems that he will have to undergo an operation.…

Rama Subbamma

My husband Venkata Narayana died more than seven years ago from AIDS. I have two daughters and a son. The oldest is taking a midwifery assistant course, and my second daughter is in the fourth…

Njane Anli

I work at CANI and I have one year of experience in the orchard. We teach mothers how to do compost at their houses and thus fertilise the soil. We grow corn, and leaves of…

Naveen

I study in a school and I had many difficulties to be able to get there. Thanks to the new bike, I have the opportunity to attend classes regularly and on time. I am very…

Munguntuya

I live with my mother and my six-year-old younger sister. My mother worked in a brick production factory but lost her job due to a staff reduction. Now I have to pick up garbage from…

Kevin Mutongo

Our class at the old school was a dark room and when it rained there were leaks. I am very happy with the new school, it is like a city of glass. We have clean…

Rami Al Kharoubi

My father owned a small contracting company in the Gaza Strip. It was the only source of income for the family. However, due to the siege and difficult economic conditions, he had to close the…

Katherine Niyonsenga

I am a member of an agricultural cooperative in the Kivumu sector in Musanze. My nine children were left fatherless during the war with the post-genocide Congo. I am very happy with the radio since…

Iswarya

I am in the ninth grade at the Hermavathi School and I live in Gollamaranapalli. My parents are called Lingappa and Sakamma, they are illiterate and work in crafts. The girls in the village did…

Isabella Muhawenimana

My tutor became a widow when her husband died in the 1994 genocide. She is the daughter of a single mother who also died in the conflict. My father has never recognised me as his…

Eric Ndagijimana

I experienced genocide in my country. My father is currently in prison for his crimes during that time. I live with my mother. There are six of us at home, and she had a very…

Emmanuel

I am ten years old and I study second grade in the Musanze district. I live with my father, and I have two sisters and a brother. With the new radio, I will be able…

Edith Batamuriza

I was born in Eastern Provence, in Burundi. I have no parents, I live with my grandmother and a brother. Thanks to my excellent grades I have been able to access the Kagarama Secondary School,…

Edda

I used to run a ceramic business that I wanted to expand. I have been a Pro Mujer client for the last 14 years, my first loan was to expand my business by buying an…

Deborah Batamuriza

I was orphaned when my parents died of AIDS. I have a sister who is HIV positive. We live with my grandmother and five boys who are also orphans. We are very poor but that…

Compaoré Fatimata

My name is Compaoré and I am the mother of seven children. We had many problems with accessing water. I am very satisfied with the new well. I thank God and the people who have…

Brigitte Kwizera

I study N-4, the last year before university, at the Nyabikere school in Karusi province. I am very happy to be able to access the Gatonde library, since this way I have more possibilities to…

Bernard

My 17-year-old sister, my 10-year-old brother and I are orphans. With what I earn by growing pineapples, passion fruits, bananas, and beans in my small garden I can send my brothers to school. The radio…

Battulga

I am seven years old and live with my mother, my four brothers, and my uncles. I am not in very good health since I have a dislocated hip and I need help to be…

Bancho Abdo

I live in Gara Kume, in the Mendida area. Before, I had to supply my family with water in a nearby stream. We used it both for drinking and for household needs. In the arid…

Ato Tsegay

I have always lived in Ruba-Konteftefe and have never had access to clean water. Our life was terrible without it because although it was a problem that affected everyone, the main victims were women and…

Atete Princesse

I was born in 2003 in a family of five members: my mother, my brother, and two more boys from another father. My father and my mother never lived together. I don’t like my life…

Aswini

My school is very far from home. I feel very fortunate to now have a bicycle. I no longer miss any class, nor the specials that take place on some Sundays. With the bike, I…

Abrehet Maasho

In our village, Mai Sheka Adhana, we had a pond with standing water, green in color, and it smelled really bad. It was full of leeches that hooked on cattle throats when they drank, and…

Hanumakka

I am 40 years old and live in Nelagonda, in the Guntakal area, in the Uravakonda region. I am married to Vannurappa and we both belong to the Dalit caste, also known as “the untouchables”.…

Muhire

My parents died of AIDS and my brother is studying at an institute outside the village, so during the term I have to live alone at home, in Kabugondo, Kamonyi district. As my parents died…