Eribarik Paulo, age 29, is single. He has a catering business. He started this business in 2006 and works daily from 8am until midnight. He is able to earn a monthly profit of around US$ 177.
This will be Eribarik’s fifth loan from Tujijenge Tanzania. He used the previous loans to build his private house and has repaid the loans successfully. He now hopes for the fifth loan to buy a good stock of food for his business.
Eribarik will share this loan with his loan group "Neema Kimara", which totals 16 members. The members of the group hold each other accountable in paying back their loans. In the picture, Eribarik is in the middle, front row, in a white T-shirt. About Group Loans In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults.
Béatrice Wilangi is 49 years old and the mother of four children, of whom two are twins. They are aged between 17 and 25. Besides her own children, she also takes care of an orphan aged 17. Three of the children in her care are enrolled in school.
Béatrice began her business in 2004 selling a five-kilo bag of sugar. Her beginning capital was US$ 5. As she used to sell near a garage, she quickly noticed what the mechanics’ needs were. She then catered to their needs by buying and selling peanuts and cakes. Over the months, those mechanics become loyal customers. With hard work and good management, she used her profits to increase her inventory from one five-kilo bag of sugar to ten.
Béatrice joined "Beni", one of Hope’s groups, last September. The two loans she has received have helped her to diversify her business by beginning to sell loaves of bread. Beatrice’s business makes a profit of about US$ 40 per week. Her dream is to open a beverage store and a clothing shop. Beatrice’s strategies are based on keeping up good relationships with her customers and knowing their daily needs. About Group Loans In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults.
Ramatu Abubakari is 28 years old. She is married and has two children - a son and a daughter. Ramatu's daughter is already in school, while her son is yet to start. Ramatu and her family live in a rented apartment in Koforidua, a suburb of Offinso in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
Koforidua is a farming as well as a commercial community, and many of its inhabitants are either farmers or traders. Ramatu works hard to help her husband financially support the family. Her husband works for one of the timber firms in the locality. Ramatu herself earns income as a food vendor. She prepares and sells porridge at the market square in the mornings. Porridge is eaten for breakfast by many Ghanaians. Ramatu procures the necessary ingredients, such as maize and millet, from Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region where they are readily available.
She has been in the food sales business for about three years and currently needs a loan to buy millet and maize in bulk in order to cut down on the cost that she otherwise incurs as a result of the frequent trips made to procure the porridge ingredients. She hopes to thereby increase her business profit and be able to better support her husband in paying for their children's education.
So I obviously thing this thing is pretty cool. It makes such a difference and it so easy to do. I know the economy is a bit tight in America just now, but try it out sometime...
1 comment:
Andy, thanks for posting an article about Kiva again. I have it open in my window ever since I read about it for the first time in one of your previous posts but didn't get a chance to read through the site yet. But I will definitely do it now since you reminded me. It seems like such a simple idea that makes so much difference, I plan on participating.
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