Micro Loans For Women Impacted by HIV/AIDS, Zambia

Thanks for supporting Power of Love’s micro loans program that empowers women by providing them with business training and small loans. Once the women complete their training and receive a loan, they start a business and work hard to make it grow. Our loan officers advice the women and monitor the businesses via weekly loan meetings, field visits, refresher training and business mentoring sessions. Continuous monitoring of businesses has helped the women run their businesses well and keep on track with repayments. 

Our Wish List and Request for Donations: At this time, we are raising funds to provide 50 new loans in the spring of 2015. Please donate generously so that women like Julie and Maureen (read their stories below) can break the cycle of poverty, learn a marketable skill, and keep their children in school. A single donation from you helps several women as loan capital funds go into a revolving fund and once a loan is repaid it becomes available for provision to a new woman entrepreneur.    

Power of Love’s micro loans program is located in the community of Matero - one of the largest and poorest compounds in Lusaka with a population of approximately 80,000-85,000 people. This community is characterized by a high incidence of HIV/AIDS (prevalence rate of 14% among adults aged 15-49), and unemployment rates upwards of 60%. As a result most people are poor and live on less than $1 per day. Given this difficult environment, women benefit from learning a marketable skill and running a profitable small business. Most women beneficiaries are able to break out of the cycle of poverty and a lack of marketable skills so that they are able to improve the diet of their families and pay for school expenses for their children.

We would like you to meet Julie and Maureen, who received business training and a small loan to start a business. At this time, both women are running successful businesses and are making repayments on their second loan having successfully paid off their first loan. All women in our program receive three loans. By the end of the third loan, most businesses are doing well and the women have built up a small capital base so that they are on the path to self-reliance. Julie and Maureen, like most of the 230 women in our loans program are working hard every day to expand their businesses to provide for their families, and keep their children in school.

Julie (not her real name) is a widow who cares for her old parents and three grandchildren. With her first loan she started a business selling vegetables. Her business did well and she was able to pay for food and rent for her family. Once Julie had repaid her first loan, she received a second loan with which she expanded her business by adding used clothing to her vegetable shop.

At this time, Julie has been able to pay for school expenses for her three grandchildren, and is able to pay for medical expenses for her parents. She is happy that she got an opportunity to learn how to run a business, meet other women like her so she can learn from them, and received funds to start a business. She wants to continue to work hard to expand her business so that she can continue to put a smile on the faces of her old parents and orphaned grandchildren.    

Maureen (not her real name) lost her husband to AIDS and is the sole provider for her four children. Before Maureen joined Power of Love’s loans program, she was having a difficult time as she was unable to pay for rent and school expenses for her children. Once Maureen joined our loans program, she received business training and a loan to start a fruit stand. Her fruit stand did well and she was able to pay for rent, school expenses and repay her off the first loan. With a second loan, she purchased a used popcorn machine. With earnings from her fruit and popcorn stand she is able to pay rent, school expenses, and save a small amount each week.

Maureen is very happy taking care of her family with earnings from her business as this has helped her improve her quality of life. She is thankful for this program as it had taught her how to be self-reliant.    

Thanks for teaching economic independence and self-reliance to new women entrepreneurs in Zambia.

Links:

• Business Training and Micro Loans Provided to New Women
• About Power of Love's Micro Loans Program
• Impact of Power of Love's Micro Loans Program