She didn’t say much.
Actions speak louder than words. And Mary’s roar: Breaking generational poverty, Mary has sent nine children—mostly daughters—to school in a region where less than 45 percent of women can read.
“Without education, you won’t go far,” Mary said.
At HOPE, we believe poverty is more than financial lack. It’s a mindset.
It’s being told: “You can’t. You won’t. You’re incapable.”
Mary is shattering this belief. Saving money for school fees, Mary is telling her daughters something different.
Through her life, she says, “You can. You will. You have potential.”
Mary with members of her family
Today, her youngest daughter is the village scholar.
Her eldest daughter is a savings group member, alongside her.
And one daughter is the region’s schoolteacher.
Mary’s daughter, a schoolteacher
Thank you for coming alongside mothers like Mary who are investing in their daughters’ dreams.
![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)