Join HOPE in celebrating the clients featured in this year’s gift catalog, men and women using the gifts God has placed in their hands—talents, dreams, and hard work—to provide for their families and give back to their communities.
Living in the rural village of Crasnoarmeiscoe, Moldova, Vera Matveiciuc lost her husband several years ago, leaving her to support their three young daughters on her own. To supplement her $100 monthly salary from her job at a local bank, Vera raised produce and livestock to help feed her family and sell the surplus at market.
In Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, poverty is concentrated in rural areas like Vera’s, where many families live without heat, running water, or nutritious food. Three years ago, Vera didn’t think her family would survive another harsh Moldovan winter without the money needed to insulate and heat their home.
That December, Vera learned about Invest-Credit, HOPE’s local partner, and took out a loan to install insulation and a furnace. “The first loan from Invest-Credit saved my family,” she says. “We could not go through another winter without making changes to our home.”
A growing business
Vera used the remainder of her first loan to invest in seeds and livestock for the coming season. As she repaid her loans, Vera took out three more, using them to expand the variety of produce and livestock she’s able to sell. She bought a male and female pig, which produce around 15-20 piglets a year, as well as ducks and chickens. Vera also expanded the produce she grows to include corn, beans, peppers, tomatoes, cabbages, walnuts, and sunflowers.
With her increased income, Vera tithes to her church on a more regular basis. Affectionately called Mother Theresa by her neighbors, Vera gives generously when she sees a need in her village. She has also sent her two oldest daughters to college, and she’s saving to send her third. Vera wants to see her village grow and prosper, and she praises God for Invest-Credit’s role in this dream. So far, she has brought 14 people to Invest-Credit—more than any other client. “Invest-Credit’s loans have opened up opportunities for my family and myself that weren’t there before,” she says. “They gave us new life.”
Share Vera’s story with your loved ones by buying representative items through HOPE’s gift catalog.
![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)