Mbemba Mulongo’s business helps to support her husband and nine children, ages 4-28. She has now taken 16 loans to grow her orange sales business in Kinshasa, DRC, and she hopes to one day diversify her inventory to continue expanding her business. She says that many in her community respect her for the initiative and courage she displayed in taking loans and expanding her business to support her family. In addition to providing for her own family, she has been able to contribute to offerings taken at her church. “I pray for the durability of HOPE because [HOPE’s services are a] true support for the poor,” she says.
![Before Eveness Mulungu joined the Walusungu (“mercy”) savings group through our church partner in Malawi, she faced days where she and her family ate animal feed because they couldn’t afford human food. But that changed when she joined the savings group. Eveness used her first group loan of about $1.70 (U.S.) to start a business selling doughnuts and beans.
“By the end of my first cycle I made $140 (U.S.),” Eveness shared. “My life is no longer the same now; [I] was regarded as no one in the community. ... This was the first time in my life that I ever touched and owned big money like this!”
Pictured: Eveness, with her husband in front of their piggery—a third successful business that she operates.](https://blog.hopeinternational.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)