Borrower Profiles & Updates

From Daughter to Mother
Fatuma was born in a Kenyan village, the village she has never left. She attended primary school for two years, but family hardships forced her to drop out in 1982. Eleven years after dropping out of school, she married her first husband. In 1993, that same year, she had her first child. Three years later she had a second child. In 2000, she had another son. Her first child, a son, lives with his father.

As Business Owner
Fatuma lives as a single mother in a semi-permanent house built of poles, mud walls, and a makuti (thatched coconut palm leaves) roof. Her biggest personal challenge is to provide education to her children and to rise above poverty. In the fall of 2003, Fatuma found a way to do this. She joined a group in her village and, through social collateral with her fellow villagers, received a loan from Yehu Bank in the amount of US $20. This allowed her to buy chickens, which she began to raise and sell.

This simple loan of $20 helped Fatuma to follow her dreams. With her business, she has been able to fulfill the basic needs of her immediate family. Additionally, her three children are now able to regularly attend school. Her dreams are not limited, though. In time, Fatuma intends to build a more permanent house, obtain goats and cows, and purchase a piece of land.

Fatuma's biggest business challenge, she says, is in expanding her business. She struggles because of her lack of professional know how and skills in building her business. She has dedicated a lot of her time and energies to her chicken-raising project. Despite the challenges, though, Fatuma says she finds joy in the success of her project as she now feels she can attain her goals, albeit slowly.

Update
After the filming of Small Fortunes, Fatuma was nominated by the members of a local chicken-raising group to take up the challenge of being the main breeder. As the main breeder in the program, she was to raise 12 hens that could provide a high yield of a variety of eggs for hatching by the local chickens that she was raising with the other poor women in the village. This assignment could only be given to one of the most progressive and determined members of the community. The high-breed hen and cock are raised according to commercial-bird management standards, being fed and raised under intensive care. This calls for commercial feeds and medicine. At this stage, Fatuma saw the need for transferring the project to the villagers as an incentive for them in the project, and she has decided to concentrate on rearing her own local breeds. The ideas she passed on to the other villagers were well received and her impact is being felt through the new efforts of the other villagers.

Fatuma also had a new daughter born in 2004, but remains a single mother—retaining the direct care of three children.

An Abrupt End to Childhood
Lesing Abatayo was born to very poor farming parents near Talisay City, Philippines. When Lesing was 7 years old, her mother died; a year later her father died. Being the eldest of three children (all girls), the burden of supporting her younger sisters fell on Lesing's shoulders. No relatives came to support the young girls. They were on their own. Lesing dropped out of school and began supporting her sisters by selling vegetables. At the age of 15 (in 1974), Lesing was married. Five years later, in 1979, she gave birth to her first child. The second child came in 1980, the third in 1981, the fourth in 1987, and the fifth in 1990.

Then her husband left Lesing to live with another woman. After two years, Lesing allowed another man to live with her. They had three more children. Unfortunately, her live-in partner gave no financial support to the family and the burden of supporting all eight children was on her shoulders. To support her children, she began making bags as a laborer of one of her neighbors. Her dream, however, was to have her own business instead of serving as a laborer for someone else. In 2002, this dream came true when she received her first loan of $60 from VEF. With this loan she was able to start her own business of producing bags and also of raising chickens. Life began looking a bit brighter for Lesing.

Dreams of Brighter Days
When in business, her bag making, chicken production, and vegetable sales reached as much as P1,000/day or US $20/day (Rate: $1:P50); her net income was P300/day or US $6/day. During her two years of business, she received three loans from VEF: the 1st Loan in the amount of P3,000 or $60 , the second loan for P5,000 or US $96 ($1:P52), and the 3rd loan for P5,000 or US $96. When she received her loans, she started dreaming of finishing her house, sending her children to school, and providing better food for her big family. With her earnings, she was able to support her dreams. With this good income from her businesses, the children also started to have dreams of going to school, eating better food, and having nicer clothing. They all dreamed of a better life.

Update: Shattered Dreams
However, Lesing's initial success abruptly came to an end. Since the filming, she has been diagnosed with an early stage of leukemia, and she was forced to close her business because of her illness. Her children had to discontinue their studies. The eldest daughter was the main source of income, but she was diagnosed with Tuberculosis (as a result of overworking in an effort to earn money for her mother's medicine). Lesing's sons accept odd jobs to support the family. Lesing and her family's life is now at survival stage. The children's income barely covers the costs of food and medicine.

Lesing's greatest dreams now are to solve her own health problems and to be able to have an income again to support her big family. She wants to be able to provide medicine for her eldest daughter. Lesing longs to start up her chicken production and vegetable businesses again. She does not want to engage in bag making again (for fear that exposure to the chemicals in the bags contributed to her leukemia). Most of all, she wants to earn an income for her family and adequate profits to pay off her debt to VEF.

When the VEF representative went to visit Lesing, she bought her some medicine and food as Lesing was suffering from a peptic ulcer (hyperacidity), a sign of extreme hunger. Lesing was also assured that she need not worry about repaying the debt until she is well and able to earn an income again.

"Never A Moment Of Happiness"
Jorimon Khan (not her real name) was one of the earliest Grameen Bank borrowers. Her life story was documented in the 1982 book, Jorimon And Others: Faces of Poverty, edited by Muhammad Yunus. More complete details of her early life are provided there.

Jorimon recalls having a harsh childhood where she "never had a moment of happiness in her whole life." As she recalls her childhood, she becomes very emotional. Her father was a day laborer and her mother helped the family by raising small animals (ducks, hens, goats, and cows). She had three brothers and one sister. Jorimon remembers never having enough food, never having decent clothing, and never having any of her childhood dreams fulfilled. She never went to school and began to fear outsiders. She received very little medical help throughout her childhood. Even the Eids (major religious holidays) were spent without hope.

In 1962, at the age of ten, Jorimon was married to twenty-two year old Rustom Khan. Her new life seemed to be a continuation of the last: insufficient food, poor clothing, little access to health care, and unfulfilled dreams. Her husband worked in the homes and businesses of the wealthy families in the village or as a day laborer while Jorimon worked as a domestic helper or in other menial jobs. Jorimon gave birth to her first child (a son) at the age of fifteen, followed a few years later by a daughter and another son.

It All Started With A $10 Loan
In 1980 Jorimon received a microloan from the Grameen Bank for 600 taka (about US$10). With this she purchased a paddy husker and within just two years reported a monthly family income of Taka 718—over twice the amount the family received before she started her paddy husking business. For once she saw hope amid all of the dashed dreams. In addition to better food and housing, Jorimon was able to send her children to primary school for a short time.

Through the use of successive microloans and the use of her savings, Jorimon has started a number of other microbusinesses such as selling milk, making palm-leaf mats, opening a tea parlor, and selling firewood. Today, only the original paddy-husking and firewood businesses remain. Her sons are both involved in these businesses.

In addition, Jorimon has taken out Grameen Bank loans to improve and enlarge her home, add a sanitary latrine, dig a tube well, and help "cure" her husband. In 1999, Rustom broke both legs and some teeth in a work accident. The Grameen Bank provided a Taka 15,000 loan that helped her pay for immediate hospital care. She counts her greatest achievement being able to cure her husband and absorb the shock of the Taka 70,000 (US$1,100) total costs.

Update: "I Am A Very Happy Woman In This World."
Today, a fifteen-year-old granddaughter and a ten-year-old grandson live with Jorimon and Rustom. Her granddaughter attends secondary school and her grandson attends primary school. Her grandchildren's education occupies her whole thoughts.

When asked how else the Grameen Bank might help her, she mentions a future loan to buy a truck for her youngest son (who now drives a truck for work and sends US$30 back to his parents each month) and further improvements to her home.

When asked about her life today, Jorimon replies that life is better in every way. "In a simple word I may say—I am a very happy woman in this world."

Going it Alone
At the early age of nine, Masika developed eye problems that required her grandfather take her in and care for her. She never went back to live with her parents. She was married, but her husband passed away and she became a widow at a young age. She now lives with her grandparents, her mother, as well as three single sisters and their five sons. With no children of her own, Masika has assumed the responsibility as the main provider for the entire family.

A Loan to Lift
In 2003 Masika obtained a loan from Yehu Microfinance in the amount of $65. With this loan she started a sea-cucumber trading business. When she took out this loan, she had hope that she was going to lift her living standards by starting a business. She also hoped the microfinance organization would help her in marketing her goods. These hopes were soon realized, and Masika now considers her business to be very successful.

Masika can purchase things she never could before such as furniture for her house. The lives of her entire family have changed. Masika is providing food, medicine, and education for her nephews and other family members-something she could not previously do.

Entrepreneurial Spirit
Although Masika's business became successful, she did not stop with one loan. She took out a second loan of $130 and started a retail kiosk to supplement her sea-cucumber trade business. Then she opted for another loan of $130. Once again she was successful. The third loan together with the profits from the earlier loans were used to construct a rental house from which she is expecting to receive a regular monthly income.

Challenges of a Businesswoman
Masika has hired fishermen to work under her. A challenge she faces is keeping them working efficiently. She is now in the process of constructing a modern fishing boat for them and is trying to obtain the money to buy the new boat engine. Another challenge has been more severe. As a result of the success in her business, some other villagers became jealous and had her fishermen thrown out of the country (as some of them were from a neighboring country). However, she went to see the relevant authorities and was able to return the fishermen to their jobs in Kenya.

Masika continues to see challenges, but she says that one day she hopes to be very successful—to be known by all locally and beyond. Through this documentary her dream is becoming a reality.

Life Could Be Better
Growing up in Senegal, Mbaye worked with his father in the family grocery store. Life wasn't bad, says Mbaye, but he knew he could "become a better person" in the United States. In 1985 Mbaye moved to New York City and started working long hours for minimum wage at a gas station. He knew he couldn't live on such a meager income, so he secured a vendor's license and set up a shop selling clothes from a small table on a street corner off of Fordham Road in the Bronx.

Street Selling to Storefront
Mbaye worked over eight years selling clothing on the streets in the Bronx - "rain or shine, in winter and in summer." He was growing tired of street selling, however, and he wanted to expand the business, which would not only increase his family's income, but would also fulfill a personal aspiration of owning a storefront. Mbaye took out a loan of $3,500 from ACCION New York and opened his first store in the Bronx in 2001. However, soon after refurbishing the store and building up his inventory, the store was robbed in 2004, and Mbaye was forced to close.

Finding Success
Gratefully, with the help from ACCION, Mbaye was able to relocate to West Harlem where he currently runs his store, Tague Flavors. Mbaye now runs three stores and his hopes and aspirations of his early days in America remain the same-to build his business. Mbaye continues to invest in his business, with hopes of meeting higher goals. One of these goals is to assure a legacy for his children and to obtain sufficient resources to educate them. Part of this goal was recently realized when his eldest son, Samba, was awarded a full scholarship to Morehouse College. Mbaye says that his children's lives have changed for the better. They see Mbaye as an example of how hard work leads to success, and they have translated that into hard work in the classroom. All of Mbaye's children are very focused on their education, which Mbaye knows will help them reach their personal potentials. He hopes that each and every one of his five sons will complete a college education, taking advantage of an opportunity that Mbaye himself never had.

"I Still Have a Dream"
Mbaye has learned a lot as an entrepreneur since arriving from Africa. He has learned from his mistakes and now knows what steps he needs to take in the future. But, like many business owners with multiple stores, Mbaye finds managing the day-to-day tasks of running his business challenging. He continues to run his three stores, and he is thinking of new ways to attract customers. He is even planning on taking a trip to China in the near future to see new merchandise. Despite the challenges, Mbaye says that there isn't any hardship that God won't help him through. Mbaye sees joy in his success, that he has grown as a person, and that he is supporting his family. "I still have my dream," says Mbaye. "Every day I wake up and work towards my goal, and I can see that I'm almost there.

A Bleak Beginning
Sivamma was born into a very poor family. She never attended school, but inherited the profession of manufacturing artificial hair plats (hair extensions) from her mother and father. They moved from village to village living under trees and earning around Rs.20 to Rs.50 a day. This was not a steady income so Sivamma and her siblings were encouraged to beg on the streets. From four years old and onward, they had to earn their own food. There were times when they fed their parents out of their begged food. And, whenever her parents did earn some money from their business, they would spend it the same day without thinking of the future.

More Misfortune
At age 14 Sivamma married; by age 15 she had her first child. She recalls sadly that when she delivered her first child, she had no food to eat, making it very difficult to feed her newborn. While suffering badly from huger, she was forced to work for food the day after she gave birth. She did not mind begging because she needed food. Some days, for no reason, her husband would beat her. Sivamma calls her husband "undisciplined." He had another "wife," would drink liquor, and tortured Sivamma for money.

Throughout her life, Sivamma never had the choice of staying at home, even when she was completely sick. If she did not work, she and her children would have to go without food. So, despite her sickness, she would choose to work. She would walk around barefoot from morning until evening in the hot sun. Still, at the end of the day she was not able to make enough to eat for herself and for her children. She has not forgotten the trauma of days when she was badly scolded by a money lender when she failed to repay a loan she had taken. Several times she hid herself from the money lender, fearing his wrath if she did not have the money to repay her loan.

Forward and Upward
In 1998 Sivamma received a loan in the amount of US$85 (4000 Rupees) from Spandana, a microfinance institution in her city. Initially her business was collecting human hair. Sivamma used her ingenuity and decided to use the loan money to buy trinkets with which to pay children to collect the hair from their mothers' brushes. Now Sivamma has hundreds of women working for her. They also pay the children trinkets in exchange for hair and then sell the hair to Sivamma, who in turn sells it to those who use the oil from the hair follicles to manufacture medicinal products.

Major Life Changes
Sivamma now earns US$930 per month from her businesses. She is thrilled with her new life. She says the following changes have come because of her involvement with microcredit:

• Better home: She now lives in a cement-block home instead of a thatched-roof hut without walls.
• Good nutrition: Her family now eats vegetables. Previously, they were forced to eat only rice and chili. Even the quality of rice they consume now is much better compared to the quality of rice they used to eat.
• Nice clothes: They used to buy only used clothes. Now they can afford to buy new and good-quality clothes.
• Option to stay at home when sick: Before, if they did not go to work, they had to go without food. Today they can afford to stay at home and take care of their health.
• Access to health care: Before 1998, they were totally dependent on public health care; today they can access private health care.
• Household items: Now they have such things as a fan, air cooler, television, chairs, LPG connection (gas connection for cooking), etc. They never had these luxuries in their home before.
• Change in saving and spending attitude: Significant changes occurred in their spending behavior. Although they did not have enough money earlier, they used to spend money on unnecessary things. Now they have become very prudent.
• Status: Sivamma and her family's status has improved among family and in society. They now have a sense of pride.
• Access to Credit: Previously she could only borrow from unscrupulous money lenders at a very exorbitant interest rate. Today she can receive from Spandana both short-term loans without any collateral and long-term loans because she has become credit worthy.
• Education: Before starting her business, her children had to drop out of school because she was not able to afford the cost. Once her business picked up, however, she put them back into school. Today she can afford to pay for any course her children opt to study. Her oldest son will soon graduate in engineering.

Update: "A Happy Life"
This year Sivamma made an investment. She borrowed Rs.600,000 from Spandana and purchased a house. By renting out this house, she gets an additional income of Rs.5,000. She has already repaid about Rs.300,000.

Sivamma says today she has everything for which earlier in life she suffered so much. She has a proper place to live, enough to eat, and the ability to send her children to school-even to obtain a higher education. She says that now she feels she has a happy life.

Hopes and Aspirations
Sivamma says that her major aspiration is to send her oldest son to the U.S. Her other great aspiration is to participate actively in politics and social work. She would like to be a city "Corporator" (like a city council member). Apart from these hopes, she says she does have a few other desires:

• She wants all her children to have access to higher education and to "settle well"
• She wants to buy a car for herself
• She wants to have a much better house than she has now
• She wants to have jewels

Her Mother's Eyes
Teresita is the oldest of three siblings-the only daughter. When she was young, her father was only earning P4.00 per day (US$.07). Teresita's half-blind mother was in the sandal-making business. To assist her mother, Teresita acted as her mother's "eyes" and would help with the embroidery and beading on the sandals. Because of this need to assist her mother, Teresita had to forego the latter years of her high school education. Although Teresita and her mother failed to sustain the sandal business that they started, Teresita learned how to be an entrepreneur at an early age.

Dreams for Her Children
In 1972 Teresita married Alfredo, whose source of income came from driving a tricycle taxi where he earned between P2,500 and P3,000 (US$1.52 to $1.82) per day. Over the next 14 years, Teresita gave birth to eight children, two of whom died. Teresita's main goal and aspiration was always to provide a good education for her children. To supplement the insufficient income that Alfredo was making in his various construction and taxi jobs, Teresita put a new skill to use with hopes of achieving her dream of an education for her children.

At a church activity, Teresita learned how to make handbags from juice bags. She began her business in 2000 and in 2003 took out her first loan of US$60. With this microloan boon to her business, she was able to expand her own business and buy a cab and a service motorcycle for her husband's business. She also started a small convenience store. Through these successful businesses, her children have also benefited. One child was able to study Culinary Arts, and Teresita bought an oven for her. Together with the income of her husband, the couple was able to build two houses for their two married children.

Update: Dreaming of Bigger Things
Teresita says that now her challenge is to produce quality products, hire more employees, and replicate the business among women in her church.

While she is not yet satisfied with her financial status, she is now in the position to dream of bigger things. Because her children have not yet finished their college educations, she will continue to support them until they can learn skills by which they can support their own families. As for her own dreams, Teresita has big plans too. She would like to lease an area of land where she can raise livestock and vegetables, so she can teach her family and neighbors to be more self-reliant.

Going Hungry
Bhagyamma struggled to find work. She was earning 50 cents a day rolling bidi-leaf cigarettes for a manufacturer, but work was inconsistent. Her husband's day-laborer work was also sporadic. They often could not afford food and went hungry.

One Loan Made All the Difference
Bhagyamma bought a buffalo with her first microcredit loan and began selling the milk daily. She bought additional buffalos with later loans. The buffalos birthed 4 calves, two of which she sold for $30 each. With her 4th loan she diversified her business by purchasing a sewing machine. She mends, sews, and sells clothing while earning $2.40 a day in buffalo-milk sales-a 380% increase over her best pre-loan day! With the profits, she and her husband built a cement water container in their house to store cleaner water, an improvement that has led to less sickness. They built a waterproof roof and they are now eating regular, nutritious meals. They bought cooking equipment and egg-producing chickens, which have produced income to help them afford their son's school fees. Bhagyamma has also put away savings for a medical or other emergency.

"Everything In My Life Is Going Well Now Because Of My Microcredit Loans."
Bhagyamma says she enjoys being in a loan group with women who have become her good friends. Early on, they were scared about their ability to repay and cheered each other on saying, "We can do this!" Prior to her loans, Bhagyamma worried constantly about where the next meal would come from. Now she focuses on her future, and she is excited about her son's education. Her son is the first in the family to learn to read and write. Smiling, she comments, "Everything in my life is going well now because of my microcredit loans."

Update: Climbing out of Debt
Since the filming of Small Fortunes, Bhagyamma has had some major obstacles to overcome. In August 2005 Bhagyamma dropped out of the SKS program when she was forced to move. Both Bhagyamma and her husband have migrated to a nearby town to work as wage laborers to earn money to cover her husband's losses in a business he started. They plan to return home after six months.

If able to climb out of this new debt, Bhagyamma's ultimate plans include acquiring more land on which to expand her business. These plans, she hopes, will allow for her to climb out of poverty and, most importantly, will provide the means for her children to gain a good education and to be in a better position than she.