Donations

Ikrami is 19 years old. He lives in Rafah located in Gaza strip with his family that consists of his father, mother, five brothers and three sisters. All his family is financially depend on him. His family owns a small grocery shop with an area of 13 square meters which was originally part of their house. Ikrami started working on the shop in 2014. The shop specialises in frozen vegetables for example carrots, corn and chickpeas and also chicken and fish. His monthly revenue is $430. The shop is located in a strategic neighborhood called “Saudi Neighborhood”. Ikrami has a good number of customers. His father worked as a construction worker but he stopped working because his permit expired. Ikrami has requested a loan form Reef Microfinance organization to expand his grocery store. He wants to buy 136 kilos of different kinds of fish, a refrigerator for the shop, 90 kilos of frozen vegetables and other items. Ikrami hopes to attract more customers and to increase his income so it can better cover his family’s needs. UTT was happy to help him with a small business loan, interest and risk free, via Lendwithcare.org

June 01, 2017

Bridge2aid in Tanzania - we donated €100 to help Jeanette in her project to volunteer project in Tanzania "This year I will be taking part in a Phase 2 programme with Bridge2aid in Tanzania. Those of you who have been do supportive in the past will know that we volunteer in rural parts of east africa training local health workers to deliver emergency dental care and oral health education. Phase two will involve me taking part in a team of Uk dentists and nurses training regional dental officers how to deliver the bridge2aid programme , thus empowering tanzanian dental professionals in their own right to take the training to their rural health officers into more remote areas than we as uk volunteers are currently able to access. Three quarters of the world’s population has no access to the most simple dental pain relief, leaving billions to face a daily battle with pain in the toughest of life circumstances. Bridge2Aid believes the impact of untreated caries on people’s lives is huge – and demands attention. There is a simple, affordable and effective way to make access to pain relief possible – train rural Health Workers to safely extract infected teeth and relieve pain. This is what we do. Bridge2Aid empowers Health Workers who are already established and well respected members of rural communities, providing them with the skills, experience and equipment to help those in need. Training is carried out by volunteer dentists and dental nurses who spend approximately two weeks in East Africa with Bridge2Aid participating in a Dental Volunteer Programme. Since 2004, 3.1 million people in East Africa have been given access to safe emergency dental care because of Bridge2Aid’s training programmes. We need your support to help us train and equip more Health Workers in developing countries. Help us eliminate dental pain and suffering to improve quality of life in a growing number of rural communities."

April 26, 2017

Today we've donated £200 to the East Africa Crisis Appeal - and thanks to the BIG GIVE match funding programme that has been doubled to £400 In South Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, drought and conflict have left millions of people in immediate need of food, water and medical treatment. More than 16 million people in the region do not know where their next meal will come from and children are at the risk of dying from starvation. - See more at: https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/dec-launches-east-africa-crisis-appeal.html#sthash.WcR6N0HC.dpuf

March 17, 2017

Lady Lima is a 23-year-old micro-entrepreneur. She is a single mother of a 5-year-old girl and they both together live in Catamayo, a canton in the province of Loja, Ecuador. She has been working in the preparation and sale of food for eight years. At the beginning, she used to sell her products as a street vendor. Later the Municipality assigned hawkers and street vendors a place for them to work during the evening so that they could develop a more stable business. She prepares food during the day and sells it in the evenings. She started working with her mother and now she administers the stall by herself because her mother had to retire. She is pleased because she has grown up with her business. Now, she even has formed a sellers’ association n order to better organize their sales and not to compete against each other. She has been able to raise her daughter via the income from her small business, as she gets no other financial support. She also helps her mother and siblings. She usually sells an average of $ 900 per month which leaves her a profit of c$ 350. We've helped her buy more raw materials for preparing meals, allowing her to buy in bulk and increasing profitability and productivity. She will also buy new tables and chairs with the money from ourselves and others.

March 06, 2017

Mom Rong Mrs Rom is 32 and has three children, she lives in Preytoteng Village, Otaki Commune,Cambodia . One child is a toddler, the other two are at school. She and her husband have three hectares of land on which they grow naturally irrigated, seasonal rice. Their present yield is consistently around four tons per hectare, and is supplemented by the rental of six more hectares from local villagers. Renting land is expensive (around $150 a hectare) and provides no capital benefit. To reduce rental costs, improve their overall profitability and create a long term asset, the family wish to buy an extra hectare of naturally irrigated paddy. We, among others, via Lend With Care, are happy to help them achieve this goal.

March 01, 2017

Muhammad Sajid is 29 years old and single. He has two brothers and four sisters, all of siblings are adult, married and live independently. Sajid lives with his elderly parents in Lahore, Pakistan. He and his father run a greengrocers’ business. They sell various seasonal vegetables from a vegetable stall in the wholesale market. Their primary customers tend to be small vegetable vendors and vegetable shop owners and at times, individual consumers as well. Sajid and his father make a monthly sum of 20,000 Rupees (approx. $192). Both he and his father work extremely hard to earn a living for their family. He now wants to expand his business and has requested for a loan. He will buy larger quantities of vegetables like potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes etc. from the farmers’ market. He hopes that with more vegetables to sell he can increase his overall income and make a better living for his family. We're happy to help.

February 14, 2017

Sughran Bibi is 49 years old and married, living in Lahore, Pakistan. She operates a small business where she makes and sells artificial flowers. She has been working in this business for almost 10 years and makes an average of 12,000 Rupees (approx. $115) in a month. She mostly supplies the flowers to retail shops in Anarkali Bazaar in the city of Lahore. She has two daughters and a son. Her elder daughter helps her in the business while her son of age 18 is a salesman at a retail shop. He makes a monthly sum of 10,000 Rupees (around $95). Her husband old and is incapable of work anymore. Sughran wishes to expand her business and we've helped her buy raw materials to make artificial flowers. Thanks to the generosity of UTT guests we've been able to help this family help themselves.

February 06, 2017

Emily Siaboc is a 36 year old. She has four children ages 17, 15, 13 and 11 years old. All of her children are attending local school. Her husband is Venerando is 40 years old and working with the construction site. Emily has been in food vending for the last 8 years now. She sells ice pops, ice candy, bananas and other homemade delicacies. She buys all her products from a trusted supplier near her home. Emily sells her products in front of a school during the day and in the afternoon. We're happy to help her improve her stall and help her family - thanks to UTT guests

January 23, 2017

Pal Thouk from Poy Wat Village, Changha Commune, Cambodia is 34 years old and currently grows rice eight hectares. He has three children, aged between 13 and 3 years old, the older one is at school. He collects his rice crop once a year, normally the yield is two tons and half per hectare. He rents another villager’s tractor to plough the land at a cost of around $60 per hectare. Apart from the expense he often has to wait until the tractor to rent is available and sometimes he falls behind and has harvesting problems. Together with Lend With Care we're helping him buy a walking tractor to bring efficiency to his farming activity. Thank you UTT guests!

December 30, 2016

Waris Maseeh is 46 years old and a resident of Badami Bagh in Lahore city, Pakistan. He started a school in his neighbourhood, and makes about 30-35,000 Rupees (around $334) every month. Waris is married and a father of five daughters, aged between 17>23, and a son, who is 19 years old. Two of his daughters teach at the school, while two of them are still completing their education. His second eldest daughter, aged 22, helps out with the household work. Waris is looking to improve his school facilities by opening up a fully functioning computer lab. His son who has recently completed his education will run the computer lab. Waris lacked an adequate sum to invest, so we (via charity Lend With Care) have helped him buy good quality computers and other accessories for the computer lab. His son and daughter will help run the lab and provide better quality education to the children. Thank you to UTT guests for helping us make this possible.

December 29, 2016

Nai Phin is 34 years old and she and her husband have been farmers for many years in Svay Chrom Village, Bovel Commune, Cambodia. We know Cambodia well, and have a special softspot for the country and her people. Nai and her family have a rice farm of eight hectares where they grow dry season rice. They normally have 3 tons per hectare and sell it directly to their local middleman. They have used their own tractor to plough the land for the last 5 years. Nai and her husband applied for a loan to cover their farming costs and a part of the loan is to help them buy a cow. We're very happy to help through the donations that we (and UTT guests) have made - thank you!

December 23, 2016

Lester Gonzaga is 25 and lives just outside the small town of Catamayo in southern Ecuador. Don Lester grows short cycle crops such as maize, tomatoes and beans, but also cultivates passion fruit or maracuya. He used to help his mother with farming and after completing secondary school started farming himself on land provided to him by his mother. He started growing maracuya on one acre of land. He has extended production and currently has around one hectare of land planted. The short cycle crops produce a more steady stream of income. He supports his mother and siblings with the income he earns. We're helping him pay two agricultural labourers he employs to help him on a temporary basis, to buy agricultural supplies and to buy some tools that he needs. Thank you for your help.

November 06, 2016

Elara is a Mastin puppy found dumped near our cavehouses in Galera, Andalucia. A hunter found her in an irrigation ditch and then tied up outside an old cave in the pouring rain. Friends who live in Galera went to her rescue. They've ound her a loving home in the UK with a single Mum, who has experience with Mastin dogs and now have to raise the money for puppy & rabies shots, wormer, microchip, kennelling and transport to UK. We've donated £100 to help. We know them personally, and trust them 100% to make sure this poor pup has a good life. If you can donate anything to help, get her to UK that would be kind xxx PS: Elara is one of Jupiter's moons.

November 06, 2016

Jean-Claude Nshimiyimana from Hindiro Sector, Nyabihu District, Rwanda asked for help to re-stock his shop. He lives with his wife and their 3-year-old daughter. He has a shop where he sells things like cooking oil, salt, sugar, rice, mineral water, juice, tea, soaps, shoes, body oil etc. He chose to sell these products and many others because in the region where he lives, it is helpful to the community for them to be able to get these things close to them. With the funding that we (and others) have provided he'll be able to buy more products including sodas, assorted cookies, breads, and children’s shoes. On average he can earn about £153 per month after paying his expenses. He employs 3 people who help him in these activities and with increased capital he hopes to create work for more employees who would help him to get the goods and deliver them when necessary.

November 02, 2016

Didier Ntubareyose from Nyabihu District, Rwanda is a grain dealer who wanted help buying more cereals in bulk for selling in his shop. He also wanted to purchase a second grinder so that his customers can grind flour in his shop. He lives with his wife, his son and daughter. His children are still attending primary school. He wants to sell even more cereals in the future so that he can save money for his kids’ school and health insurance. He has been in this business for 6 years. In two years time he thinks he will have an annual stock of 80 tons of cereals, and we were happy to help.

September 18, 2016

Tarseem Irshad is 28 years old and lives in a locality of Lahore, Pakistan called Data Nagar. He lives with his wife, elderly mother, and one sister. He is the only person earning an income in the household. His sister is going to school. He is a photographer and filmmaker. He records wedding ceremonies and other events. He also does video editing and mixing on a computer. He has been doing this for the past 3 years and earns on average about 20,000 rupees per month (about $192). He uses all his earnings to manage household expenses (utilities and food and clothing). His computer is not working properly. Terseem Sahib wants to purchase a new computer with a faster processing speed as well video editing and mixing software license. Along with others (via lendwithcare.org) we've helped him out. Thank you!

September 12, 2016

Tsitsi Mudzivare started a business selling babywear, cosmetics, jewellery, perfumes, bags and various accessories, which she stocks from South Africa and sells in her native Harare, Zimbabwe. The business is situated in the Harare Central Business District and she employs a girl who assists her in selling as well as restocking. Tsitsi is a married mother of three children. We've helped her boost her stock, adding more variety to meet the needs of her various clients. These include jewellery for weddings, and a new range of cosmetics. When she sells her stock she'll better be able to support her family. Thank you for your help!

September 09, 2016

Orn Saing is 49 years old and has three kids, aged between 11 and 29 years. She lives in Poy Kdoeurng Village, Preah Net Preah Commune, Cambodia. Her youngest is at school while her older is already working. Orn farms wet season rice over 2 hectares. To strengthen her working capital in preparation for a new planting season, she has taken a loan to buy another plot of land of around one hectare to increase her produce. Next time she could be farming rice in her own 3 hectares of land, thanks in part to us providing funds (along with others). She will hire ten villagers to help her on both planting and collecting the crops.

September 06, 2016

Mrs. Bui Thi Ly lives with her husband and their 10 year old child in an old house in Xom village, Nam Son commune in Vietnam. They are a traditional farmer family, earning a living through growing rice on a 1400 sq. meter plot of land and raising 2 buffaloes and 30 chickens. Her monthly income is around 95 USD. We've provided £595 (and paid for all administration) so that Mrs Ly can buy materials to improve her farmland and crop. She plans to buy a bicycle for her child to get to school with the additional income from the next harvest. We're happy to help.

August 15, 2016

Tsitsi is a hairdresser from Zimbabwe. She is a 33 year old who has three dependants who are all still in school. She is married and lives in Tynwald South, a suburb of Harare. As well as being a hairdresser she also does cross-border trading to help support her family. She has taken a loan of $600 to improve her salon with mirrors, chairs and redecoration. She will also increase her stock of hair extensions, hair relaxers and other hair products that her clients need. We are happy to help!

July 07, 2016

Muhammad Aslam is a fancy yarn weaver. He is married and has one son and one daughter. One of his children is old enough to get an education. Aslam-sahib lives with his family in Badami Bagh, an area of the city of Lahore. Although he works hard to support his family, it is really hard to manage all of his household expenses. Aslam-sahib is the only earning member of his household. He makes fancy yarn which he then sells to shopkeepers. The yarn is later used for necklaces and other jewellery items. He has been in this business for the last 14 years. He earns about 19,000 rupees (about £139) per month. Aslam-sahib wants to help his family by expanding his carpet-weaving business. With increased income he hopes to provide a better life for his family. We were happy to help.

July 05, 2016

Pos Dan is 32 years old and lives in Dambouk Bun Village, Anlong Vil Commune, Cambodia. He farms rice on a land size of two and a half hectares. He grows wet season rice. Growing wet season rice allows him to collect around three tons of crops per hectare to complete market demand. The middleman buys all of his crops from his home after his crops are harvested and collected from the field. When he gets free time from his rice farming activity he works for other villagers; for example carrying their rice sacks, or he works as construction worker. He earns around $8 a day from his extra work. To farm his wet season rice he asked for funds to purchase seeds and pay for the ploughing cost of the rice paddies (one hectare costs $60). We're happy to help.

June 28, 2016

Sreymao Phan is a farmer from Bovel District in Battambang province in north-western Cambodia. We're familiar with the area of Battambang and its wonderful people. For the last five years or so she has been cultivating rice and cassava. She usually harvests around two tonnes of rice. She has a separate larger area of land measuring around four hectares where she grows cassava. She can usually harvest around 80 tonnes of cassava root. She has been renting an additional three hectares to increase the area she has under cultivation. She pays a total of $750 per year to rent the land. Sreymao requested a loan in order to pay for the costs of ploughing her land. The machinery costs $80 per hectare. She also intends to cover the cost of the annual rent, and pay 10 labourers to help with the harvesting and planting. However, the vast majority of the loan it to buy fertiliser and seeds. We're happy to provide money to help her develop her farm.

June 17, 2016

We recently hired local DJ Alec Downie to DJ for a wedding party at utt's La Veranda. Alec cares passionately about the conditions of dogs and cats in Andalucia, and works tirelessly to aid their lives. He offered to work for free in exchange for a donation to a charity he helps with - Spayathon - which tries to reduce the number of dogs and cats in distress by offering free spaying to stray and other dogs and cats. By doing this they manage to reduce the number of animals suffering in the Andalucia region and we were delighted to help. We've seen their work first hand, and they really make a difference. Click the link if you'd like to help, or could help rehome a dog or cat from them.

June 14, 2016

UTT regular and friend Audrey Gillan is spending her Bank Holiday weekend in Calais helping out at the Refugee Community Kitchen there. If we weren't in Spain with a newborn baby we'd go and help out ourselves...but as we can't we've given her £100 to buy essential foodtsuffs that the kitchen has asked for (spices, lentils etc)...and the local Asian shop from where they'll be sourced has kindly also offered a discount. Many thanks to Audrey for volunteering, and to all the good people who help in the kitchen there. They cook around 1500 meals a day (and rising) on limited means, helping people to help themselves.

April 29, 2016

Poeurt Chan from central Cambodia has been earning a living from farming for the past 40 years. Presently she has grown cassava on around five hectares of land. She harvests after around ten months, generally collecting around 20 tons per hectare. A merchant buys her cassava roots directly from her farm after the cassava has already been chopped. She also hires around ten people to assist her in both planting and chopping the cassava. Poeurt requested a loan in order to pay for ploughing the land (one hectare costs around $40) and to help her pay for labouring costs. We were very happy to offer her a £200 interest free loan and cover administration costs.

April 28, 2016

Besita James from Malawi (Africa) is 26 years old and has one child who goes to school. She runs a small business selling groceries and household products. She required a loan in order to buy more body lotions, soap, sugar, salt, bread, snacks, cooking oil and rice for her business. She started the business to enable her to pay for accommodation and clothes for her family. Her business has been running for 6 years and in the future she hopes to be able to use her profits to open a shop at the local market and to buy a plot of land to build her own house. We lent her £186 and covered administration costs.

April 21, 2016

Mrs. Ha owns a small business that sells general items in Lam Luu village in central Vietnam, where she lives with her husband and their two children. Her eldest child does casual work and her younger child is a high school student. Mrs. Ha started her business 14 years ago. Back then her store only sold milk, candies and biscuits. But now it’s growing well. Mrs. Ha tries to diversify the items she sells. She sells shampoo, detergent, sauces, spices, rice, plastic buckets and many other things. Mrs. Ha has applied for a loan to boost her current selling business and we've given her £150 interest free. The loan will be used to repair her store and restock it with new ranges of general items. Mrs. Ha will return the loan within 24 months, and we'll then pass the money to new projects.

April 09, 2016

We met Ared and his friends on the street outside the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. They make their living by selling books on Cambodia to tourists who visit the Palace complex. All three have physical disabilities, but rather than asking for charity (which would be completely acceptable in Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world) they print and sell books on the street with a smile. We admired their entrepreneurial spirit, and gave Ared c£50 to allow him to purchase or print more books from which he could profit.

March 06, 2016

Charity Chileshe is 39 years old and married with four children, who are in school. She lives with her family in the Chipata district of Eastern province Zambia. Charity runs a stall selling different types of cosmetics, like face powder, lipstick, nail polish and perfumes. The income from her stall, along with that from her husband raises funds for her children’s education and to improve the living conditions of her family. We've loaned her £75 interest free to buy more stocks of powder, nail polish, perfumes and eye liners for her stall. Her ambition is to provide quality education for her children and provide the daily necessities of the family. She hopes she can generate more income from her business so that she can build her own stall to work from.

February 28, 2016

Mr. Heang Howurn grows paddy field of wet season rice in Boeng an Lok villahe, Cambodia. We’re out in Cambodia ourselves at the moment, and daily impressed by the warmth and kindness of the Cambodian people. Mr Howurn collects two and a half tons of crops per hectare for sale on the market. As well as around nine tons of cassava roots per hectare from his general farmland. To get more cassava roots for sale on the market Heang rents another plot of land that is around six hectares. The renting cost for this piece of land is around $200 per hectare. He uses his own tractor to plough his farm. He has been doing this for the past five years. Using his own tractor helps him cut down the cost for renting a tractor and he is able to plough the land on time. To get a strong working capital on his rice and cassava farming he asked ‘Lendwithcare’ for a loan in order to purchase materials, diesel for the tractor to plough the land, money to pay for renting the land and cover the labour costs of harvest. We’ve given him an interest-free loan of £75 to help him achieve his farming project this year.

February 27, 2016

Sugarcane is the main source of income for farmers living in Man Duc commune in Vietnam. Mrs. Bui Thi Mai and her husband are sugarcane growers like others in the village. They own a field of 4500 square meters and take care of their sugarcane plantation on it. Sometimes they raise livestock like ducks or chickens. What they raise depends on their local region’s demand. Mrs. Mai wants to borrow a small loan to start a new sugarcane crop. The harvest day for her current crop is just a few weeks away. The loan will be used to buy young sugarcane trees and fertilizer for this year’s crop. We've loaned her £150 and paid the admin so all the £150 goes to her.

February 23, 2016

Vayness Mbewe from Malawi is 24 years old. She is married with 2 children who depend on her. Vayness owns a grocery business. She would like to use her loan to buy more groceries, fish and rice to stock up her business. She started the business to be able to provide food and clothing for her family. She works by the side of the road and has been running her business for eight years. Her husband helps with the activities of the business. She plans to open a much bigger grocery business and also build a house for her family. Previous loans have enabled her to reduce the levels of poverty in her home and she has also bought a car. We helped complete her requested loan to support her and her family.

February 08, 2016

Daisy Laboga is a 31 year old married woman. Soon she’ll give birth to her second child. Her eldest is studying in elementary level. She is married to Biane who is 38 years old. They all live in the village of Sudlon 2 which is in Cebu province in the Philippines. Daisy and Biane are both engaged in farming. This has been their source of income for the past fifteen years. They mainly grow crops including aubergines, beans and cucumbers. Their harvested crops are being delivered to the Cebu city public market. The profit they earn from the past harvest has been very helpful for them especially in building their house, although it is not totally finished yet. Daisy currently employs two workers to help them in taking care of their crops. Daisy has requested a loan from the MFI, Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative, in order to buy tools and materials for their farm. She has been a member of the organisation for six years and completed several past loans. Daisy hopes for a regular and good harvest to help with the costs of raising her second child. We're very happy to help her help her family.

January 23, 2016

Parveen Bibi is 29 years old and married. She has a son. Her husband sell fish and earns about 9,000 rupees (around $87) a month. They live in an area called ‘Muhala Doshera Ground’ in the city of Kasur. Her son is not of school age yet. Perveen stitches shawls used in winter and sell them to people in her neighborhood and in Kasur market. She buys all her fabric and sewing supplements from ‘Kasur’ and earns approximately 7,000 rupees per month. She has been running this business for the last nine years. Their household expenses are often high so they have to spend all of their earnings in managing their household expenses. Parveen wants to buy clothes in bulk to get a discount. She wants a loan to do a bulk purchase to get the discount. The bulk purchase will increase her profit margin.

January 18, 2016

Zeeshan Ali is 20 years old and lives in Singh Pura, which is an area of Lahore in Pakistan. He is single and has two brothers, one sister and mother. Two of his siblings attend school. His elder brother works and earns 14,000 rupees per month. Zeeshan runs a traditional embroidery business locally called ‘Silma Sitara’. His finished clothes are commonly worn by ladies on special occasions such as wedding events or festivals. He started this business about two years ago and manages to earn 12,000 rupees (around $115) per month. He receives orders from retailers from different markets, especially Anarkali Bazar. Zeeshan Sahib visits the retailers, who provide him with the designs they want, and then he buys the necessary clothes and beads from a local market. He wants to raise his income and needs some running capital to invest. He requested an interest-free loan to make a bulk purchase of the materials that he uses; specifically, chiffon clothes, pearls, stones, and fancy yarn in greater lengths and quantities. Thank you for helping us help Zeeshan with his business.

January 13, 2016

Mrs. Ha is a drink seller living in Phung Chi Kien, Bac Kan. She is 36 and married with one child age 15, who is attending high school. Her husband is a salaried driver with a monthly income of 160 USD. To gain more income, Mrs. Ha sells some popular types of drinks in a rented store near her house. Among the drinks she sells the most are coffee, hot tea and soft drinks. Mrs. Ha is determined to make her business grow bigger to get more income. She plans to buy 20 coffee makers, 50 big glasses and 50 smaller ones. She also intends to buy 20 kilograms of coffee powder.

January 01, 2016

Mrs. Linh is 22 and living in Group 12 of Phung Chi Kien. Her kid is nearly one and her mother-in-law is 53. Mrs. Linh’s husband helps her a lot with caring for the baby and with the business as well. Mrs. Linh hires a store where she provides haircut services. Her customers are mostly residents living nearby. She started this business just one year ago. Mrs. Linh has asked for loan to buy two new hair rinse tables and other necessary equipment. She also intends to buy shampoos and hair gel etc. The loan will greatly help her with her investment. Mrs. Linh will pay the loan back in 24 months.

January 01, 2016

Bibi Khatoon lives in Hussain Park, an area of Lahore. She is 50 years old and married with one son and one daughter. Both of her children are getting an education. Her husband works and earns 15,000 rupees per month. She decided to start her own business about five years ago. She thought she should also earn, so she can contribute income in managing household expenses. She sells unstitched cloth used to make women’s clothing, as well as ready-made clothing from her home to women who live locally. Bibi Khatoon earns a profit of around 5,000 rupees (about $48) per month. She wants to expand her business and applied for a loan which she will use to buy more clothes of the latest designs from wholesalers. The loan is for 20 months.

January 01, 2016

Mavis has asked for a loan so she can restock her stall with clothing and shoes before the festive season. One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity. Mavis Denga is aged 35 with 3 children. Her husband Jacob Mutoredzanwa installs and repair baking equipment. Mavis and her husband reside in Budiriro, a suburb in Harare. Mavis is a cross-border trader and she mainly crosses to Tanzania and South Africa. In Tanzania she restocks clothes for men and women, babywear and jewellery. In South Africa she restocks kitchenware. She has been in this business for many years and this has improved her way of doing business. She joined Thrive with other business ladies and named their group Aim Higher. They went through the business trainings to enhance their business knowledge. Mavis has been aiming higher from the day they formed their group. She has received her fourth loan and she has utilized the previous loans well. The last two loans she took on an individual basis as other group members dropped off along the way. She managed to increase her business value and diversified her lines of products. She does mobile selling and her profits helped her purchase a business vehicle. This has helped her increase her mobility and efficiency to customers. Currently she is selling from the boot of her car, moving from place to place. Most children and parents enjoy festive season and spend much of their incomes and savings for the year on clothes and food. Mavis has found this consumption as an opportunity to grow her business. She is planning to capitalize on this relaxation in spending habits. She wants to go and restock clothing for both young and old and shoes from Tanzania in order to address the demand during the festive season.

December 18, 2015

Mrs. Chenda Van has been a rice farmer for ten years. Her farm land is sixteen hectares. She grows wet season rice. She collects around three tons of crops per hectare to be able to meet the market demand. Since she farms her rice paddy in a big land she invested in buy her own tractor to plough her land. She has been using her own tractor for farming for the past ten years. Using her own tractor helps her cut the farming cost and she is able to farm on time. She is applying for a loan in order to buy commercial fertilizer, insecticide, weed killer, diesel for the tractor to plough the land and cover the harvesting cost during collecting the crops.

December 09, 2015

Zeeshan Anwar is a seamstress. He is 21 and lives with parents and and one sister. He lives in Badami Bagh in the city of Lahore. His sister is studying. Zeeshan and his mother are running the business of sewing readymade clothes. He visits market to buy fabric and sewing supplements as well to get orders of work. His mother at home cut the fabric according to different sized and then stitches the clothes. Together they manage to earn 14,000 rupees per month. They are hardworking and motivated persons. Working hard to provide good education and living standard. Zeeshan requested a loan in order to purchase fabric in bulks. He hopes they could sew more clothes and earn better. He promises to pay back the loan in 17 installments.

November 16, 2015

Rashid Ali is applying for a loan so he could purchase mobile accessories and mobile cards. He has been running mobile phone shop from last 12 years. Rashid Ali lives in Lahore in an area called Badami Bagh. He is 22 years old and single. He lives with his parents, 4 brothers and two sisters. Two of his brothers of age 19-21 support their household by working and they earn 21,000 rupees per month collectively. He runs his shop in rented place (rent is 6,000 rupees). He sells cell phones cases, batteries, chargers, hands free cables, data cables, mobile pouches and calling cards. His customers are passersby and people lives around the area. He earns 12,000 rupees per month. He thinks there is demand for more products but he has no money to invest as he has been using all earnings to cover household expenses. He has applied for a loan. He will buy calling cards, used mobiles, mobile casings, and chargers from the main Mobile market.

December 09, 2010