Anita Francisque is a single mother of three children. Just 15 months after receiving her first loan through her community bank—named “God is so good”—Anita has been able to considerably expand her roadside diner and dried fish sales. With the purchase of a larger fish net, she can catch, prepare, and sell a greater number of fish each day. She can provide for her children much more easily now and has also used her success to support other local businesses.
Three and a half years ago, Marie-Chantal and her now-husband were living together outside of wedlock. They wanted to be married, but they had not been able to afford a traditional marriage ceremony and celebration. Community members looked down on them for their unofficial union. Then Marie-Chantal accessed a loan from Turame, HOPE’s partner in Burundi. She was able to buy tomatoes from a wholesaler in Gitega and resell them at a private stand in a convenient location for a slightly higher price. Her income increased, and she was able to afford a legal marriage and the ceremony to accompany it. She has also been able to buy a pig and a goat, which now fertilize the crops she has planted.
From his five gardens, Ericles is able to sell produce to his community in Miragoane, Haiti. His earnings enable to support his family of six and save 25 cents a week. “I feel like God has provided the savings group,” he says. Since joining his first savings group one year ago, Ericles has decided that he would like to save even more money and generate additional connections in his community by joining a second savings group.
Selling handbags in a Ukrainian market enables Anna Edelstein to assist her husband in providing for their 3-year-old son, Yaroslav. She has received two loans—for $560 and $750—that have helped her significantly expand her inventory. When asked to describe HOPE’s impact on her family, Anna responded, “We have joy; we have income; we have subsistence.”
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.
A single, Haitian mother of three, Emma Jean saves just 25 cents a week. “I did not save before because I did not have much money, and I didn’t know that I had enough to save,” she says. Emma is saving to have money on hand in case of emergency. She operates a small business in which she purchases and delivers flour to a baker who bakes bread which she then sells. In her savings group, she has learned not only valuable lessons on money but also lessons on family and community. “There have been lessons about how to talk to children and words not to use in front of them. To correct them, you must be the example, and it is better to correct them when you are not in front of others so that they are not shamed,” she explains.
