Mary, a wife and mother of three, began flexing her entrepreneurial muscles before she had ever heard of microloans sponsored by HANDS. When she was young, Mary would purchase ready-made clothes and sell them to the people in her village. Due to the success of her initial sales, Mary saw potential for a bigger business and decided to open a shop in the local market.
However, as school expenses increased for Mary’s children, she realized she had to find creative ways to expand her business to cover these new costs. That was when she started considering a loan from Think and Do, one of HANDS local partner organizations.
Initially, Mary sold some shoe samples in her shop and was delighted to find that they were purchased quickly. Feeling more confident, Mary decided to pursue the loan and bought extra shoes with the money. Her shop became a huge success, and she is now able to contribute to the monthly family income and is in the process of repaying the loan.
Mary standing in front of her expanded shop.
She tells us, “I trust that God will bless my micro enterprise.” With the success she has had and that ingenious mind of hers, we know that our micro loan program was meant for Mary.
Without your ongoing support, individuals like Mary would not be able to take advantage of their own talents and build a better life. HANDS would like to express gratitude to our donors who are contributing to the success of Mary and countless other hopeful entrepreneurs.
A special thanks to our friends at the Apache Corporation for their recent sponsorship of our benefit dinner.