Making a Global Difference

Merlyn is 39 years old and has three dependent children. She and her family live in Brooke’s Point, Palawan. Merlyn sells bananas for a living. Her stocks of banana come from other farmers in her community.

At the moment, she does not have a proper toilet for her family. To build one, she is asking for a loan to buy steel bars, GI sheets, cement, hardwood, hollow blocks, and pay for labor. With a concrete and proper toilet, she can be assured that her surroundings are clean and her family’s health is taken care of, preventing illnesses brought about by dirty surroundings.

26-year-old Mary Jean has been engaged in buying and selling charcoal in her hometown of Brooke’s Point, Palawan. Charcoal making is in abundance where she lives. She has two children aged three and six.

Mary Jean is longing to build her own toilet for her family. At the moment, she has to always ask a favor from the neighbors to allow them to use their toilet. With a loan, she plans to use the money to buy steel bar, hollow blocks and hard wood.

Once she can ensure this big need for her family, she can be assured of the convenient way when the need for the toilet arises. This will also mean that they can easily accept visitors and families when they want to visit.

Florence is 17 years old and lives in the town of Zirobwe in the Kasangati region of Uganda. She has one child. For the past 4 years, Florence has been working hard to manage her grocery store, which sells green bananas (plantains), Irish potatoes, and tomatoes.

To help expand her business, Florence has requested a loan of 800,000 Ugandan Shillings from BRAC Uganda. The loan will be used to purchase more green bananas, cassava, and tomatoes to increase her sales, and will help Florence to generate greater profits. Her production will increase and attract more revenue. She will manage to buy food for her family and clothes for her child. Florence hopes that in the future she will be able to buy a plot of land and build a house for her family.

Florence is a member of BRAC’s Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA) program. In addition to microfinance loans, the program provides both a safe place for young Ugandan women to take part in group activities, and a forum for life-skills training.

Mary, a mother of 9 children who was born 71 years ago is happy to share her profile with Kiva lenders for the first time in this platform. She lives with her family in Matuu and depends primarily on agriculture for survival. Her work is to raise dairy animals and grow various crops.

Agriculture has become exceedingly dynamic and requires high-quality seeds and nutrient-rich fertilizers. Mary is seeking this loan to buy farm inputs such as fertilizer and seeds to enable her to grow more crops, reap maximum profits and increase her business.

Being a woman and accessing funds in Kenya, especially around Matuu is very challenging. But Mary feels relieved knowing that institutions such as Kiva are helping enterprising women like her. She is always working to improve her family’s living conditions. Her biggest dreams are to become independent and support her family by herself.

Annah has 3 children and is married.

She rears goats which she fattens to later sell at a preferably increased price to earn increased profits. She carried on this business from her family which they used to do to fend for themselves. She recently got an idea of starting up a farm which she wants to push forward. This is why she is seeking a loan to buy more goats from local farmers to rear, fatten, and sell after 3 months at an increased price. This will make her farm grow since capital for starting it will be availed. This will help her generate increased income hence shooting her profit margin high.

Chandy is 27 years old and is a married woman with one child. She sells sausage. Her husband is a waiter. For one year, she has been running this business, and the fluctuation in price of goods is her major challenge.

She will use this loan to buy sausage and other groceries for making food. This loan would help her get more income and change her family’s living standard in the future. Chandy wants to renovate her house and send her child to get higher education in the future.

Mark, has 9 children and is representing his group, formed by 17 farmers in Kakamega B (North) District, Kenya. He joined One Acre Fund for the first time in 2012 and decided to represent his group because he wanted to help more farmers.

With a portion of this loan, Mark will not only purchase maize seeds and fertilizer for the coming harvesting season, but also a solar light. Receiving a solar light as part of his loan means that now he will be able to reduce the consumption of paraffin fuel and therefore save more money. Mark plans to use the profits he gains this year to buy a cow.

In total Mark’s Group will use the inputs received from this loan to plant a total of 14.5 acres of land. They will also receive a total of 2 solar lights.

Peter, who, as a group leader, is representing his group formed by eight farmers in Lugari District, Kenya. He is a father to five children and is known by his community as a very hardworking individual.

Initially, Peter joined One Acre Fund in 2014 because he wanted to have access to quality training and acquire new farming methods. Since he joined the program, he says that his life has improved, especially because he has been able to consistently feed his family. With the profits from the coming harvesting season, Peter plans to send his children to school.

Between the eight farmers in Peter’s Group, a total of 4.75 acres of land will be planted using the maize seeds and fertilizer received with the loan. Additionally, a farmer in the group will be purchasing a solar light so, with this loan, the group will also receive one solar light.

As a married parent of three children, Nida works hard to support her family.

She has a fishing business in the Philippines, and also earns additional income from a general store. Nida is borrowing PHP 27,000 through NWTF to purchase fishing materials like new fish net, gasoline for her boat, rope, etc. for her fishing business.

She successfully paid back her previous loan, and now she has requested an additional loan to further build her business.

Nida has been sustaining her business activities through her past 7 loans from NWTF. She hopes that her hard work will help her attain her dream to save money to expand her business.

Osorio is 51 years old. He is a married man who lives with his family. He works as a rice miller and receives orders every day. He has been running this business for four years. His wife also works as a teacher.

Osorio will use this loan to improve his rice mill. Through this loan, his business will generate enough money for Osorio to attend to his family.

He is grateful to lenders for giving him this opportunity. Osorio’s goal is to make improvements to his business in the future.

Faatalaia is a 20 year old single woman with one child. She makes and sells ice-cakes in her community to earn a living. She has two years of experience with this business. She needs a loan to buy cordials, sugar, a large cooler, a new chest freezer, chinese candy and foam cups. She plans to use her profits to expand her business and support her family financially. Faatalaia has been a member of SPBD since 2018.

Zaina is 24 years old and lives in the town of Nakifuma in the Kasangati region of Uganda. For the past 2 years, Zaina has been working hard to manage her beverages business, which sells soda, water, and juice.

To help expand her business, Zaina has requested a loan of 800,000 Ugandan Shillings from BRAC Uganda. The loan will be used to buy another fridge in order to cool more drinks, and will help Zaina to generate greater profits. Zaina will use the profits from the business to buy for herself necessities like sanitary towels, pay house bills, and provide basic needs for her family like clothing and food, thereby improving on their standard of living. Zaina hopes that in the future she will be able to build rentals in order to generate more revenue.

Zaina is a member of BRAC’s Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA) program. In addition to microfinance loans, the program provides a safe place for young Ugandan women to take part in group activities.

Kisa is 25 years old and married with 1 child. She owns and operates a small store, selling a variety of items. She has been doing this for 2 years. She needs a loan to buy a new display fridge, a chest freezer, snacks, frozen goods, canned food, sack of onions and potatoes. She hopes to use her profits to pay for her family’s weekly expenses and to expand her shop. She also hopes to save to buy a vehicle to help with her shop. Kisa became a member of SPBD in 2017 to gain access to capital for her business.

Esther is known among her customers as a lovable and charismatic woman. At her age, she works by looking after her own farm. Living in a poor and third world country has never been an excuse for Esther, who has been practicing mixed farming for the past 11 years.

Using the loan to buy farm inputs and purchase high-quality seeds and good fertilizer will improve her crop production. Modern farming requires the use of modern techniques, and, therefore, using high-quality seeds will assure Esther of a bumper harvest and increased profit levels.

Porferia is 57 years old, married, and has six children, two of whom are still in school.

Porferia is in the agricultural business in the Philippines. She requested a PHP 25000 loan through NWTF to buy feeds, and other supplies to raise her livestock.

Porferia has been in this business for 5 years, and has borrowed 10 times in the past from NWTF to sustain it.

In the future, Porferia would like to save money to expand her business.

Yusta’s Group is formed by 8 farmers in Iringa District and is being represented by Yusta, who is the group leader pictured above. She is 54 years old and has 6 children. Yusta has been a farmer for more than 20 years and is often referred to as a very experienced farmer.

Yusta isn’t new to One Acre Fund, she actually joined the program in 2016 and has since noticed her life has changed; especially in the sense that she has had more profits from each harvest ever since. This year, Yusta will not only get fertilizer and maize seeds as part of her loan, but will also purchase a solar light. She is very excited about this addition since now she will be able to have light during dark hours for her children to be able to study.

Using this loan, Yusta’s Group will purchase a total of 2 solar lights and use the farming inputs received to plant a total of 11 acres.

Antony’s Group is formed by 7 farmers in Butere District and is being represented by Antony, who is the group leader pictured above. He is 32 years old, married and has two children. Antony has been a farmer for 8 years and is often referred to as a very resourceful person.

Antony isn’t new to One Acre Fund; he actually joined the program in 2014 and has since noticed that his life has changed, especially in the sense that he has been able to consistently feed his family ever since. This year, Antony will not only get fertilizer and maize seeds as part of his loan, but will also purchase a solar light. He is very excited about this addition since now he will be able to reduce the consumption of paraffin fuel and therefore save more money.

Using this loan, Antony’s Group will purchase a total of 5 solar lights and use the farming inputs received to plant a total of 3.5 acres.

The women of the DANAYA group are on average 44 years old, with three children, all living in traditional extended families inDjeli/Segou (fourth largest administrative region in the Republic of Mali). They met via family links and are all involved in the sale of food and in the purchase and sale of cereals and condiments. Subsequent to reimbursing their previous loans, the women of the DANAYA group are now asking for their 7th loan. SALI, seen furthest to the right in the photo with a bag of flour in her arms, plans to use the loan to purchase 35 kilos of rice, 10 kilos of wheat flour, 10 liters of oil, 10 kilos of corn, 10 kilos of onions, 2 baskets of tomatoes, 1 paquet of Maggi bouillon cubes and 2 kilos of salt for her food sales. She stocks up on products at wholesalers. She hopes to earn a monthly benefit of 50 000 FCFA, that she will use to cover expenses related to health, nutrition, clothing and school fees. Any remaining profits will be reinvested in her business.

Sanavar is 38 years old, married, has a specialized secondary education and is a mother of five children. She is well known as a principled, honest and kind-hearted person. Sanavar has already been in business for 15 years, increasing the total number of the livestock on her farm. On the farm, Sanavar has a horse, 8 sheep, and 4 cows. She grows wheat and maize on 4.77 hectares of land. Sanavar applied to the bank Bai Tushum for a loan in the amount of 50,000 som (KGS) to buy fertilizers for tilling the soil. Part of the funds will be used to purchase livestock. Sanavar plans to use income from the loan to further develop her business.

Tessie is 45 years old and married with five children. With four children in school, she works very hard to provide for them.

Tessie runs a general store in the Philippines and requested a PHP 28,000 loan through NWTF in order to buy additional stock of groceries to sell.

She has been in this business for 15 years.

In the future, Tessie would like to save money to expand her business and continue to send her children to school.

Aggrey deals in selling soap, cooking oil, sugar, and rice on a retail basis in Hoima, Uganda. He started this business as a way of generating income to enable him to take care of his children. He also ventured into operating a depot as a way of supplementing his income. He hopes to grow his business into a wholesale shop. He is requesting a loan facility to buy more salt and sugar to sell.

The group named Flor de la Isla Umbu is in its first cycle. It is a new group where each one is putting in her greatest effort to be able to grow and get ahead. They work within the program for the elimination of poverty, struggling to get ahead.

One of the members is Asuncion, who is a hairdresser. She is a very hard-working woman. With her sacrifice, she put together her business and little by little she is improving it. It is because of this that she decided to join the group to be able to grow and get ahead.

She is requesting this loan to purchase shampoo, rinses, dyes, hair rollers, scissors, and other supplies, in such a way as to be able to continue with her good service as she has been doing.

Blanca is 64 years old and has been single since her partner passed away several years ago. She has three children, one of whom is living abroad and the other two are married.

Blanca has owned a store for 41 years. She also works at a coffee plantation where she hires day laborers for the work. Her store is in her home and the plantation is an hour away by foot.

She needs this loan to buy bread, soups, drinks, rice, sugar, condiments, detergents and other products to stock her store.

Blanca’s dream is to travel to visit her son.

Yulian, 35, is single and lives alone in a village in the municipality of Santa Barbara. For 13 years he has been in the paint and auto body shop business. He has his own workshop off his house. This is how he earns a living.

He has decided to apply for a loan in the amount of 15,000 HNL, his fifth loan, which he will use to buy supplies such as paint, sandpaper, tape, primer and other materials for his business.

With the loan he also will be able to sell materials and charge for labor costs for paint jobs. His goal is to have his own locale, improve his business and enjoy a better quality of life.

Jose studied until 6th grade. He is married and his partner is a housewife. He has 2 children who are studying at school. Jose makes a living planting maize, beans, sorghum, and cassava. He learned the trade from his parents. His partner helps him at work and also his children when they get home from school.

Helping low-income and financially excluded families living in remote areas of Cambodia. As part of their commitment to social performance KREDIT have setup the Vulnerable Services Unit (VSU) to provide financial and educational services to their poorest clients. They offer flexible terms and a wide variety of training services including child protection, health care, agriculture and financial literacy.

Saumu is a married woman with four kids, all of whom attend school. She owns a house that has neither electricity nor piped water. Her greatest monthly expense is food for the family.

Saumu operates a vegetable-selling stall. She sells at the market to town dwellers and neighbors.

Mohammad is a 26-year-old single man who works in the construction field, specializing in aluminum installation, to cover the needs and expenses of his family, that consists of four other members.

He hopes to keep on expanding his business to increase his income and improve his family’s living conditions.

Maria went to school up to the eighth grade. She has two children, who go to school, and is a single mother. Maria works taking care of the domestic chores, in agriculture, and in the sale of snacks. Her mother and brother help her with the work.

She dreams of providing for her children and helping them so that they become professionals, and they don’t lack food or clothing.

Ana, 19 years old, is an entrepreneur in Sabanagrande, who inherited from her mother the passion for trade in merchandise. She is single and studied shoe-making with the goal of making her own creations and of having a better sales margin. Since 2015, her shop has been in business. Her principal source of business is through social media, where her contacts generate orders. Also, in her house she keeps a stock of merchandise, and receives neighbors and friends interested in her products.