Balaka, Malawi

Tofoa, Tonga

Elisiva is 19 years old, single, and graduated from high school. She lives with her parents and her three siblings. The financial assistance will help launch her business of making and selling tapa with the help of her mother. This will also help support her family.

 

San José, Costa Rica

Muhammad is 28 years old, married, has two children, and lives in a village near Hebron, West Bank Besides working in the public sector, he farms also in order to provide for this family. The financial assistance will help him buy seeds, fertilizers, and pesticide for this farm to enhance and expand his farm.

West Bengal, India

West Bengal, India

Banswara, India

Mary Joy is 23 years old and has three children. She and her partner fish to support her children. The financial assistance will help buy fishing nets and other fishing materials to enhance their fishing activity.

Sierra Bullones, Bohol, Philippines

Bagamoyo, Tanzania

Pili is a 21-year-old entrepreneur living with her parents in the Bagamoyo District of Tanzania. She sells handbags. The financial assistance will help her expand and reinvest in her business to support herself.

Adidogomé, Togo

Lebanon

Hoda is a 22-year-old Lebanese single woman who lives with her parents and siblings. Her father is the sole income provider in the family; he owns a barber shop, where he offers his customers many services.
With the help of her father, Hoda finished high school and registered at a local college as a full-time student. The family faced some financial problems due to poor economic conditions in the country, consequently, Hoda needs financial assistance to help pay her college fees, finish college and secured a good job.
 

Solomon Island

Theresa is a 53-year-old, married and has five children. She lives in a community in Honiara, capital of Solomon Island. She runs a business selling dyed clothing. The financial assistance will help buy a sewing machine, rolls of fabric, cloth dye, and cotton to make more clothing to sell to her customers. The profits will help meet her family's expenses and pay for her children's school fees.

Kenya

The Second Step, Inc.

A Way from Violence to Self-Reliance: The Second Step is a comprehensive program for survivors of domestic violence. Founded in 1992, The Second Step offers transitional housing, advocacy, safety planning, mentoring, children’s programs, legal case management, and an array of supportive services for families transitioning away from abuse.

Ghana

God's Love Group | Retail

Mercy is 37-year-old, married with two children. Mercy owns and operate a general retail business. Mercy requires financial assistance to buy more mother-care product to meet customer’s demands. She hopes to re-invest the profits, as well as pay for school fees for her children. Mercy, Gifty

COMPASS SCHOOL

Has impacted the lives of over 20,000 students, parents and families. COMPASS IS a community-based, non-profit, social service agency and special needs school that provides comprehensive educational, counseling and support services to high-risk youth and families. Their four-school and home-based programs serve over 1000 clients per year. Their mission is to equip those served by COMPASS with the skills to become self-sufficient productive members of their communities and society.

Tajikistan

Tursun-zoda, Tajikistan | Sewing

Laylo is a 44-year-old married woman with two daughters, 18 and 12 years old.  She has been a seamstress since her youth. Given her talent and her successes, Laylo is ready to expand her business by modernizing her sewing machine, and purchasing additional fabrics. The modernization and fabric will double her output and her income.
 

Mondulkiri, Sen Monorom, Cambodia | Farming

Mengor's Group: Mengor, 25, is a married woman living with her child in a rural village of the Sen Monorom district of Mondulkiri province, Cambodia. She earns a living through growing bananas while her husband is a construction worker. They have been in this business for 5 years.

Sokhem is representing her group of three members. Financial assistance will help Sokhem buy more bananas for growing. She hopes to keep her business growing to help support her family.  In this group: Mengor, Kun, Sroy

Guatemala, San Francisco el Alto, Totonicapán, Guatemala | Tailoring

Mujeres De Chimatul Group: In the Western Highlands of Guatemala live eight K'iche’ women: Mujeres De Chimatul Group. K’iche’ is the largest Mayan ethnic group in Guatemala. The women sell bread, tortillas, sweaters and handmade Mayan clothing.

Isabel is a 38-year-old mother. She attended school for one year and speaks only K'iche. Isabel has six children between the ages of 3 and 16 years with her husband. Their children will attend school until the sixth grade. Currently only two of her children are in the school. Isabel’s sews sweatshirts and sweatshirts as her business. With a microloan, she will buy a machine to increase her production. Her profits will help keep her children in school.
In this group: Isabel, Marta, Pascuala, Isabel, Juana, Sebastiana , Lorena, Juana*

Chwele, Kenya | Farming

Mary's Group: Mary has been a farmer for 15 years and is now proud to represent her group of 11 farmers in Chwele District. She is 30 years old, married and has four children.

Mary represents her group One Acre Fund since 2014. She helps cultivate 7.25 acres of land. Microloans will provide solar lights for One Acre Community. Participating in the One Acre Fund community has enabled her to consistently feed her family. The farm’s yield will help Mary send her children to school.

In this group: Mary, Meshack, Hillary, Lilian, Alice, Mourine, Celestine, Kate, Christine, Benard, Chrisantus

Pilar, Paraguay | General Store

This group, Mujeres Valientes, which means Brave Women, is looking for ways to help them provide for their families. Guillermina, runs a store out of her house. She grew her business from nothing, and now finds herself furthering that growth by purchasing inventory to meet the demands of her customers, such as drinks, baked goods, dairy products, vegetables, fruit and other products.

In this group: Elisa, Ignacia, Guillermina, Ruth, Amelia, Florencia, Ingrid, Silvia, Cririla, Jacinta

Margaret she runs very successful enterprises in farming, dairy, poultry, and crop production. Margaret is the sole breadwinner of her household. Her biggest challenge is lack of access to farming inputs, such as fertilizers. Margaret is seeking a loan to buy seeds and fertilizers in order to improve her horticultural farm to expand her income and save enough to educate her children. The microloan will help her meet increasing demand for food in the market, and generate more income to support her and her children.

Hearth ending elder homelessness

Hearth Outreach Program works with approximately 325 homeless and at-risk elders each year to help them find and secure affordable, permanent housing. Our seven housing programs, with a total of 188 units of permanent housing, provide on-site support services, allowing even very frail elders to live dignity and independence as active members of the community.

Zirobwe, Uganda

Congo (Dem. Rep)
 

Palestine
 

Palestine| Education

Lama is a 24-year-old working woman. She has been working as a receptionist since 2016. Financial assistance will help her year tuition fees in her hospitality major.  Her dream, once she graduates from the university is to open her own own hospitality.

Prey Veng
Cambodia

Magway

Jenin, Westbank

Palestine

Indonesia | Farming, Food

Putri Nabu Group: Putri Nabu is part of 19 women group who help their husbands farm to provide for their families. The lack of rain this past season has dramatically reduced their crops, and harvest. To supplement their farming, the women also run small businesses out of their homes. The microloans help prepared their farms for new crops, and help grow their business at home.

Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia | Farm Supplies

Sokeang Group: Sokean, 35, is married and a mother of three children, all of whom are in school. She and her husband have earned their living growing and selling cashews for the last 8 years. They make $10.00 a day.

Sokeang is the leader of her group, and microloans will help her buy organic fertilizer and pesticide to boost her crop yields. The income will help keep Sokeang’s children in school.
In this group: Sokeang, Sidorn

Project COPE

cares for individuals of all ages, through a series of educational, residential, outpatient, and other ambulatory and/or home-based programs.

Of the many services and assistances it provides to individuals in need of special services, such as, substance abuse and addiction Services, behavioral health, and health education and development Services, Project Cope also provides programs involving a variety of housing support services to hard-to-reach homeless individuals, including transitional and permanent housing services.

YouthBuild Boston

works with young adults in the Boston area to develop personal and career skills using innovative programs in the building trades, from design and construction to the green industry.

YouthBuild Boston enhances the lives and skills of their students, encouraging them to work with integrity, confidence, discipline and aspiration. More than 1,000 graduates have been equipped with the professional skills and tools necessary to lead successful lives and further their education.

Boston, MA 02110 1210
Phone: (617) 426-5505
FAX: (617) 426-5577

Teen Voices

SHOUT (Sisters Helping Other Unheard Teens). Founded in 1988, Teen Voice's mission is to support and educate teen girls to amplify their voices and create social change through media. They do this through after-school journalism mentoring program, SHOUT!, and other publications, Teen Voices and Teen Voices Online. SHOUT! is the journalism mentoring program which results in the award-winning online and print magazine Teen Voices.

Teachers Without Borders 

Teachers Without Borders works to close the education divide through teacher professional development and community education. They work in developing countries, in order to build self-reliance, health, and capacity.
Teachers are the largest single group of trained professionals in the world AND the key to our children's future. Teachers need our assistance; otherwise, we are left with poverty, lack of development, and a gaping digital, educational, and economic divide. If the key to economic development and our young people's future is education, then teachers should have resources, tools, and access to the Internet, as well as each other.

Children's Hunger Relief Program  

is one of the only relief agencies still active in the remote areas of Darfur, Sudan where the needs are very critical. Thanks to compassionate people like you, CHRF were able to bring in several tons of desperately needed relief during last fall's trip. CHRF is planning another trip as soon as possible and ask that you would continue to remember the Darfuri people in your giving. Please click on one of the links below to learn more.
Darfur
Field Report
Field Report 2

Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly

is a national non-profit, volunteer-based organization committed to relieving isolation and loneliness among the elderly. Little Brothers-Friends of the

Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly believe in, and nurture, the philosophy that feeding the soul (with companionship, friendliness, and flowers) as well as the body (with good food) promotes both the physical and mental health of the elderly, enabling them to remain independent and avoid costly and impersonal institutional alternatives.

hopeFound

is dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness among men and women by helping them to achieve self-sufficiency, and to secure and maintain permanent housing.

Second Chance Shelter for Cats

is a no-kill home-based shelter in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Jamaica Plain and a network of loving foster homes, friends, sympathetic veterinarians and feline rescuers, working to reduce the number of homeless cats in our backyards and on our local Boston streets. Second Chance are strictly NO-KILL. They receive no state, city or federal funding, and are purely run by volunteers who give their time and money for love of the animals.

The City School

develops and strengthens the power of youth to work toward building a just society.  They do this through creative education and critical thinking, leadership development, action and service, and promoting understanding and relationships across difference.

The City School is a vibrant and unique youth organization in Boston that brings together teenagers from Boston's diverse neighborhoods and outlying communities in programs that combine creative education and critical thinking about social justice issues with hands-on leadership, learning, reflection and action.

The Home for Little Wanderers

is a nationally renowned, private, non-profit child and family service agency. It has been part of the Massachusetts landscape for over 200 years, making it the oldest agency of its kind in the nation and one of the largest in New England. Originally founded as a orphanage in 1799 (see history for more details), The Home today plays a leadership role in delivering services to thousands of children and families each year through a system of residential, community-based and prevention programs, direct care services, and advocacy.

Rosie's Place

is a sanctuary for poor and homeless women, offers emergency and long-term assistance to women who have nowhere else to turn.

Founded in 1974, Rosie's Place welcomes each guest with respect and unconditional love. Rosie's Place accepts no government funds, and relies instead on committed volunteers and private supporters to accomplish its effective and innovative work.

Haley House

is a Boston-based nonprofit organization that uses food as a vehicle to help alleviate suffering, build new skills and bring communities together. Everyone deserves to live in a safe, comfortable, and well cared for home. Haley House in Boston makes this possible by providing access to affordable housing in desirable neighborhoods. This not only fosters a sense of community, it affirms a person's dignity every time he or she comes home.

Transition House Cambridge

is Cambridge’s domestic violence agency, providing emergency shelter, transitional and supported housing and youth prevention education to our community since 1975. Transition House created the first emergency shelter on the East Coast for women and children escaping domestic violence. Transition House and its supporters have been at the forefront of developing policies and practices that support victim rights, protect the safety and privacy of those in danger, and expand the network of vital services for survivors recovering from the trauma of abuse.

Services | Sewing

Priyanka is a cheerful and hardworking woman of 23 years. She is married and the mother of a small son. She and her husband are raising their son together. She lives with her family in a small village of Alipurduar District.

She sews varieties of garments and is the only seamstress in her community. Microloans assist people like Priyanka purchase modern sewing machine and stitching material to enhance and continue her business, and help serve her community.

Benkadi 1 Group | Farming | Mali

The ten members of the Benkadi 1 Group consist of married women, averaging 33 years old, with 3 children per family; all living in in the village of Koutiala, Mali. The loan assist in plowing, weeding, buying seeds, and agricultural equipment, etc. to maintain about 2.7 acres of farmland. Crops will be sold in villages in Koutiala to benefit the families of the Benkadi 1 Group.
 

Du's Group Café | Cafe | Vietnam

Du was born in 1958. She has four children. All of them are married. Du and her husband are farmers and run a coffee shop to have more income. Du has successfully completed seven loan cycles. This microloan is to invest in her café.  

Nazareth Group | Primary/Secondary School |India

A resident of a village in Manipur, which is one of the northeastern states in India, Lamtin is a member for the Nazareth (C) Group, a resident of a village in Manipur, one of the northeastern states in India.

She and her daughter are pictured with their hand raised. She is a widow and manages her expenses from her husband's small monthly pension. Lamtin will pay for the annual expenses, textbooks, stationery, and admission fees for her children; the other group members will also pay for their childrren's school expenses.

Hajar | Food Production... | Lebanon

Hajar is a 22-year-old Lebanese single woman who lives with her parents. Her father provides for the family. Two years ago, Hajar started a business to supplement her family's income, and help improve her personal and professional life. The loan will help purchase the necessary provision to make homemade food and sell it on the market.

Loans like these help rural women in Lebanon develop their small business, as well as empower women in a country were gender roles and norms make it difficult for women to start a business.

Nida | Sewing Palestine


Nida took a USD loan from FATEN. This loan will help her to buy a new sewing machine for the family business. By taking this loan, Nida will be able to increase the workshop

Kokosan Group | Food Production... | Indonesia

Kokosan Group sell snacks, such as dent, risoles, martabak sweet, fried tempeh, tofu and steamed cakes, and also run general grocery shop, and sell clothes. The loan will help purchase better production equipment, and add new types of food for re-sale.

Kokosan group is led by a woman named Endang. She has five children, and runs a large roadside food stall in the city center. The loan will help with cutlery, more types of vegetables and dishes for sale and resale.
 

Maa Tarini (A) ... | Farming | India

The women of the Maa Tarini SHG are from a small village in the Cuttack district in Odisha in the eastern part of the India. The group is composed of 11 women who earn their living by raising animals like cattle and chickens, selling milk, and cultivating and selling vegetables. They need additional capital to maintain, enhance or expand their businesses and decided to apply for a loan with People's Forum. They are excited and full of hope to begin this new season with solid goals and dreams.
 

Mariam | Clothing Sales | Jordan

Min Kan Village was born in 1976. She is a married woman living with her husband and four sons and daughters in Wihdat, Jordan. She has been supporting her husband financially by selling clothes for one year. Now that she has an established client base, Mariam will use the loan to replenish and increase her inventory of clothes for resale.

Min Kan Village | Farming | Myanmar (Burma)

Lamtin lives with her daughter in Manipur village, which is one of the northeastern states in India. She and her daughter are pictured with their hand raised. She manages her expenses from her husband's small monthly pension. With the assistance of the Kiva education loan, Lamtin will pay for the annual expenses, textbooks, stationery, and admission fees. This is the first time that she will be able to provide all the materials required for the whole year. The rest of the group members will also pay for their children's school expenses and says they are deeply honored and happy for this loan.

Palestine

Nazerah | Farming | Palestine

Nazerah is a 50-year-old married woman who lives in a village near Jenin City. A mother of seven children, she works as an employee in a local firm, while also helping her husband plant seasonal crop, which eventually be sold in the local market. Nazerah needed financial assistance in order to help her to buy more olive tree seedlings for the family farm. Through the loan, Nazerah will be able to improve the family business and increase its productivity. Palestinians face unique challenges due to the economic and political environment in the West Bank and Gaza. Kiva and FATEN are working to help Palestinian borrowers overcome these obstacles.

Diamond Group | Primary/Secondary School |India

Fifty-three-year old Lamlhing is a widow and lives in a village which is far from the capital town of Manipur, which is one of the northeastern states in India. She is the featured profile member for the Diamond group (B). She and her son are pictured with their hands raised. Her husband left when her son was only two-and-one-half years old. 

 She started looking after her three sons on her own. She feeds them, sends them to school and manages her household needs for their day-to-day lives with a small sum of monthly pension salary. The monthly pension salary is her main income, and it was left by her late husband.

El Aguacate  (Cuenca) Group | Food | Ecuador

The El Aguacate group comprise of 8 members, and live in the Monay en Cuenca. This area is surrounded by vegetation. The people there work mostly in animal husbandry, and farming; barely enough to provide their children with a better future and better job opportunities. They still maintain the culture and traditions of their villages. Lidia has had her own business. She sells a variety of food like grilled meat, green plantain tortillas, corn pudding, and more products. She works in this business from Monday to Saturday with out fixed hours. Micro loans like these help Lidia, like other members of the group, succeed in her/their business, and help provide better opportunities for their children's future.
 

Du's Group | Café | Vietnam

Du was born in 1958. She has four children. All of them are married. Du and her husband are farmers and run a coffee shop to have more income. Du has successfully completed seven loan cycles. This time, she would like to borrow VND 10,682,000 to invest in her café.

Adom Group | Used Clothing |Ghana

Monica, who is the featured borrower, is 44 years old, single, and the mother of two children (one girl and one boy). In addition to her business, she raises fowls.
With her loan, she is going to purchase some clothing and fowls, while her colleagues will purchase bags, wigs and foodstuff to stock their businesses.
 

Reeta's Group |Personal Product Sales |Pakistan

Reeta, aged 40, is a responsible mother, and living in the area of Lahore, Pakistan. Her husband is a hawker by profession, and sells different kinds of hair oils using his bicycle. He sells avocado oil, castor oil, coconut oil, olive oil, rosemary oil, safflower oil etc. He wants to buy a large quantity of hair oil to sell to expand his business, and to lift themselves from poverty.

Kenya

Joseph's Group | Farming | Kenya

Joseph is a member of this group in Webuye District. He is pictured here in a group of 6 One Acre Fund group comprising of 73 farmers. His group received a quarter of an acre of maize and a quarter of an acre of sorghum or millet.  Joseph and his group needed a loan to cover the costs of purchasing the seeds and fertilizer through One Acre Fund. Joseph wants to help more farmers become more engage in community farming One Acre Fund, for which he is a Group Leader. Loans help farmers such as Joseph send their children to school, and reinvest in their business, while bringing awareness of farming to their community.

Luceros Del Alba Group | Retail Clothing | Boliva

A portion of Luceros Del Alba Group's loan helps a member purchase cloth to sell in the local market. The Group is composed of 7 members, and led by a directorate with Blanca as president. The members' businesses are varied; among them, selling woolen mattresses, footwear, fruit, ESIKA products, and meals.
Because one of the member is married and expecting a baby, the benefits of this loan enables her to purchase cloth and turn them into skirts to sell, while maintaining her home as much as possible.

Buenas Mujeres De Jucha Group | Services Tailoring

“Las Buenas Mujeres de Jucha” (The Good Women of Jucha) is composed of nine responsible and enthusiastic women whose average age is 36 years. They want to increase their businesses. Their goal is to provide a better future for their families and their community.

Carmen is the 50 year-old Treasurer of the Trust Bank and has a large family of six children. She feels quite proud to be a member of the group.

Carmen works in the tailoring and garment industry. She learned a lot about the business from her son and daughter-in-law and began to make tee shirts, shirts and pants. Carmen is excelling in her business and will use her new Friendship Bridge loan to meet the requests of future clients. She will purchase an additional sewing machine. Two additional people have been hired! Carmen tells us that she anticipates a lot of work in the next few months and so the loan will come at a good time!

Tout Va Bien 2 Group (10 Borrowers) | Retail Food | Congo

Chrisly, age 34, is single with no children. He is representing the Tout Va Bien 2 group. Chrisly has a food stall where he sells a variety of food and household items. He has had this business for 15 years! He started as a young boy and has continued to grow his business. He will use the loans to buy canned good, oil, and rice. His business strategy is to be nice and helpful to his customers. Chrisly has received one previous loan from HOPE Congo, Kiva's partner. He has a good repayment record. He would like to open a second food stall in the future.

This "banc villageois" Group | Retail | Senegal

consists of women living in the same and surrounding neighborhoods. Its members are united by good social relations. They are all active in retail businesses. Diouma has been in the business of selling shoes and ready-to-wear clothes for the past five years. The profits she make will enable her to contribute towards family events, but also to pay for food for family on her mother's side.

Lucienkro 1 Group | Agriculture | Cote D'Ivoire

The group Lucienkro 1 is part of the UCO cooperative union. The group is from Lucienkro, a small village of western Ivory Coast located in the Duékoué region. This group has ten members.

Sylvain, age 46, is a member of Lucienkro 1. He is responsible for thirteen people at home. He has been growing cacao for 26 years, and he currently has 11 hectares of cacao farmland. With this loan, he will be able to buy fertilizers and pesticides for his cacao plantation. These items will allow him to increase production and to bolster his income.

He plans to use the additional revenue to build poultry breeding facilities.

Nagma | Services | Sewing | Pakistan

Ms. Nagma, a married mother of four, is struggling to provide for children, such as food, clothing and education.
Though her husband is employed as a rickshaw drive, it isn’t enough to support the entire family.  This prompted Ms. Nagma to stitch clothing at home to generate second income. Micro loans help people like Ms. Nagma to buy cloth, thread, etc. in order to make clothing, and resell them in her community. Kashf Foundation is one of the leading microfinance providers in Pakistan, focusing on providing and expanding financial assistance to poor women.

Mehnaz | Arts | Embroidery | Pakistan

Mehnaz is 35-year-old woman, who lives in Lahore, Pakistan. She is a responsible mother of four children, and her husband owns an embroidery business. Presently, he needs to purchase embroidery materials for his business. However, due to the lack of money, he finds it difficult. Therefore, Mehnaz has requested a loan from BRAC Pakistan (BRAC Pakistan is a subsidiary of BRAC, one of the world’s largest development organizations with a focus on microfinance and economic empowerment.) to help her husband acquire the threads, precious stones, etc. for her husband's embroidery business. This will help him to continue his business. Mehnaz is so very thankful for this loan.

Flamboyan Ii Group | Food Production/Sales | Indonesia

Flamboyan II” is the name of this group of sixteen members, which was formed in 2008. They’re located in a small village called Kroya.

Businesses run by this group mainly food, such as egg rolls, sausage solo, wet pastel, donuts, nagasari, kueku, lemper, Mendut, semar mendem, beans, onions, and risoles. In addition, they also operate a free-range chicken business. They meet once a month. The loan will help enhance their business, and consequently their families.

Nurul is the leader of this group. She provides encouragement to the members. She has a business of refilling mineral water, called "Hijau Daun."

The Guarani-Ka'Aguy Group | Retail | Paraguay

The Group is comprised of 11 hardworking and entrepreneurial women that hope to be able to get ahead and help their families by means of working together. They are the heads of their households and have to care for their homes and their families.

Francisca is one of the members of the group and she tells us that every day she begins work very early in the morning and works all day. She sells all types of products door-to-door, such as bed sheets, blankets, quilts and more. Thanks to this work she has been able to help her family and provide what they need so that they are not lacking for any basic necessities.

Entrepreneur | Cattle |Kyrgyzstan

Nurgul is a member of the Myrza group. She is 51 years old, married, and has three children. Nurgul raises livestock to provide income for her family. With two milk cows she earns a monthly income of 3,000 som (KGS). In order to further develop her business Nurgul came to Bai Tushum and Partners for a 60,000 som (KGS) loan for the purchase of a milk cow. She plans to invest the profits into further expanding her herd.

Entrepreneur | Food Production | El Salvador

Maria Yamileth needs to stock up her inventory by buying firewood, corn, gas and other items she needs to keep on improving the service she offers to her customers. She says that thanks to her previous loan she succeeded in maintaining her level of sales and was able to earn money for her family, that up to now is doing very well.

The Ara Pyahu Group | Clothing | Paraguay

They are currently in the fourth cycle with a grade of excellent. It has 13 women members who work hard to be able to help their families. Cipriana is a member of the group; she sells all types of clothes. She comments that thanks to the variety she has she's managed to have a large number of customers that always buy clothes from her. Cipriana's dream is to have a great salon to sell her clothes in and to have more customers and to improve her income.

C 7849 TUZAMURANE Group | Farming | Rwanda

Pierre is the leader of this group. He is 41 years old and is married with three children. He sells rice. In the photo, he's the one who raised up his hand. He works from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except on the weekend, every week. Pierre has 7 years of experience in this work.
Pierre through Vision Finance Company in order intends to cultivate large quantities of rice for resale. With any profits, he will be able to reinvest in his business and save money for his future.

Sour Group | Farming | Cambodia

Originally from a village located in the Tbaung Khmum district of Kampong Cham province, Sour is aged 35 years and married with three children who are still dependent on her and in school. Like other villagers, maize planting is her main source of the family's income to support the family. To better support her family, sometimes she works for others for pay. She has been in her business for almost sixteen years and earns a daily income of around 8,300 KHR per day.

La Union Group | Retail | Paraguay

Retail La Union (The Union) is a committee of the town of San Lorenzo. All the members are women of the area who do their best to provide for the needs of their families. They are the heads of their households and they want to grant a better future to themselves as well as to their families.  

Mwange Group | Food | Burundi

Cyriaque is part of the Mwange group and lives in Rumonge, a community belonging to the Bujumbura district. He is 33 years old and is married to Devote, who is a trader of vegetables. Together they have three children, aged 3 weeks to 5 years. He has been trading palm oil for the past 18 years.

Nasreen's Group | Farming | Pakistan

Nasreen has applied for a loan from Kiva partner Asasah for her husband's business, which involves agriculture. Nasreen's husband is a farmer and grows different seasonal vegetables. He has received this skill from his father. He grows vegetables and then sells
them to required customers for profits. His profession requires much struggle but in the end he receives good profits. Nasreen herself belongs to a sewing and embroidery business, but she also gives time to her family and to her household works.
She has five children: three daughters and two sons. All of her children are getting their education.

Entrepreneur | Retail | Columbia

Leidy is a young woman who at 19 years of age is a mother of a baby just barely three months old. With the intent of giving her child everything it needs, young Leidy is beginning her own business selling merchandise from a catalog such as perfumes and body lotions. A relative taught her everything about this activity about 1-1/2 years ago. With the objective of improving her sales and securing the necessary income for supporting her family, young Leidy needs to buy merchandise to have a better display for her customers. The dream that Leidy has is to watch her child grow up and to have her own shop in a well known mall in the city.

The Dagbemabou Group | Food | Benin

The Dagbemabou Group has 12 members who all live in the same area. This is the first time that they have requested the financial assistance of Alide, and have done so to increase their business levels.
The group's representative is called Celestine, and is pictured with her hand raised in the photo. She is 52 years of age and is married to a man named Bertin. The couple has 10 children, some of whom go to school and all of whom are under their care. Celestine did not go to school. To meet her needs and those of her children, she has worked for 15 years selling palm oil and, on a secondary level, corn in her region. Celestine gets her supplies from one of the markets in Benin. In order to satisfy her customers and increase her sales and income, Celestine and the other members of the Dagbemabou group have asked for their first loan.

Senegal Food | Fish Selling | Senegal

This banc villageois was created 12 months ago. Its members are all women who live in the same neighborhood, and who have been related by social and economic ties for a long time. Their main business is the processing of fish products.
Dicke is a 34-year-old married mother of six children. She is pictured standing to the extreme right of the photo, dressed in a white t-shirt and black skirt. She has worked selling smoked fish for a long time, and she has fairly good experience in this area. Her new loan of 120,000 francs CFA will allow her to buy fresh fish to process, which she will sell on a retail basis in the area in which she works to customers from other areas.

Entrepreneur | Clothing |Colombia

Ninoska sells clothing for women, men and children. Her business is sales based on orders, with the help of her mother she started it when she was 14 years old selling to her school friends, and previously she helped her mother in the sales of children's clothing which her mother made. With great care and little by little she has been increasing the structure of her business, she invests not only hard work but also her profits, and this is the reason it has grown. She sells to her customers on credit, who pay in bimonthly or monthly installments based on the agreement that she has with each one of them. Ninoska is a very resourceful young woman; even though she studied criminology, she was not able to practice this profession and turned to her enterprising ideas that she learned in her childhood to be able to generate income for her family.

Entrepreneur | Retail | Tajikistan

Sharafniso has been selling at her district market for over five years. She spends the profit from the business on family expenses and her children. Sharafniso is utilizing this loan to refill her store inventory with confectionery goods. She hopes to have high sales during the holidays. She is grateful to "Arvand" for the support.

Entrepreneur | Retail | Kenya

Rashid owns an electrical shop in Mombasa, Kenya. The business has been in operation for two years. He learned about Milango from his friends and joined the group to access funds for his business.

He is utilizing the loan to buy more fans, iron boxes, and other materials. Rashid intends to save the extra income from this business in order to open a workshop in the future.

Las Brillantes De La Q Group | Retail

She has been a member of EDAPROSPO for one year and earns her living by selling clothes. Carla is 27 years old, and has two children. Carla has been in business for two years. She started her business because she wanted to provide a good education for her children and generate more income to cover their needs. Carla also provides private tutoring sessions to children. Through her work and effort, she has been able to give her children a good education. Her income currently covers the water and electricity expenses. In the meantime, her partner covers the food and education expenses. Her plans for the future are to buy a plot of land for building a house and to rent a new vending post so that she can expand her business.

Emprendedores De Pampahasi Group | Retail

Carmen is the president of the Entrepreneurs of Pampahasi communal bank. All the members live in the area of Pampahasi, which is where they got the name. Carmen is a hard-working person who is supportive of her fellow members, so they elected her president. She sells collectible CDs in the area of Villa Fatima.  She sells door-to-door and works with her son, who is 2 years old. In the future, Carmen wants to rent a shop in order to be able to sell her products and in this way further increase her business capital. She is very thankful for the help she is receiving

Xequemeya Group | Retail, Farming | Guatemala

Feliza Gonzalez Mejia is married and has 2 daughters and 4 sons. She sells french fries in the center of San Francisco el Alto, Totonicapan with the help of her husband. Feliza buys her supplies in the center of Momostenago on the market days of Sunday and Wednesday, and also raises domestic animals such as cattle, cows and pigs, and sells them there.

She is the coordinator of this group of women from the Jutacah farming village, Xequemeya, Momostengango in the Totonicapan Department. They are women who have been working for the last 8 years, and have decided to increase their working capital. That is the reason why they went to the ASDIR of Pologua offices- to help finance their work and thus improve the quality of their lives.

Entrepreneur | Retail | Azerbijan

Tural Hasanli is a 30 year-old man who runs his own cafe in Agsu city. He started his business only a year ago and despite this his cafe has become very popular because of the good quality service. Tural`s monthly income is 250-300 AZN.

Tural bought this place and he is now ready to renovate it. He has applied for a loan of 1,000 AZN in order to improve his working place. Tural is working very hard to meet the needs of his two children.

Byabasita Tukwatanise Group | Farming | Uganda

Through planning and hard work, Willy has managed a ten year old commercial agriculture business. Willy provides for all his family needs.

Entrepreneur | Retail | Nicaragua

Karla Argentina Aguirre Lopez is an enterprising who has her sales stall in the Israel Lewite Market; she sells bags, school supplies, slippers, shoes, umbrellas and soft-drinks. She is open for business from 7am until 6pm and she has an employee that tends to customers.

She is married and has two children one of whom is still school-aged. She will use the funds to buy stock merchandise for her business: bags, school supplies, umbrellas, knapsacks, slippers and shoes. Karla Argentina states that all the loans from Ceprodel have been used for her business.

Razia Begum Asghar Ali's Group | Retail | Pakistan

Razia begum is very supportive to her family. Previously, she took a loan from Asasah. Her husband started a grocery shop by using the loan amount. Now she has applied again for a loan because she wants to expand his business by putting more grocery items in his shop.

Razia is a seamstress by profession. She sews clothes for neighborhood clients and for her relatives as well. She receives reasonable charges from them. Her earnings help her to share the financial burden with her husband. She lives in a city called Riwind, in Pakistan with her husband and five children: two daughters and three sons. Three of the children are attending school while the other two help their family financially by doing jobs in the factory. The children couldn't get an education due to poor financial conditions.

Manzooran Ramzan's Group | Clothing | Pakistan

Manzooran lives in a small city of Vehari Pakistan. She has three children who couldn't complete their education due to a lack of financial resources. Her husband is a painter. To help support the family financially, Manzooran does domestic sewing by receiving orders from her neighbors. She earns a reasonable income from them and uses this to pay for the utilities.

She is applying for a loan for her son, who sells cosmetics products. He wants to increase the variety of products that he sells by adding more creams, lotions and other cosmetics products to sell from his cart. It will help him increase sales and hence his income will be improved which will help his family to better their living standard.

FLAMECOS Community Group | Retail-Medicine

Meet every 28 days at Collpani, a Pro Mujer office. Its president is Gregoria Quispe, 60, who has operated a business selling "chifleria" (a herbal medicine) for two years. She needs the loan to buy merchandise. Gregoria operates her business at the La Ceja market in the Bolivian city of El Alto. Her daughter helps her and they work there every day. The other members of the community group have various sales, production and service businesses.

Entrepreneur | Retail | Philippines

Virginia Gimena is from Oroquieta City. She is 51 years old. Virginia is married and has 3 adult children. To make a living, Virginia owns & operates a business in the services sector providing waste management services. She buys & sells recyclable material for local businesses and community members. Virginia has been engaged in her business for over 4 years and earns approximately 7,000 PHP a month for these activities.

In 2005, Virginia joined PMPC to gain access to financial services to help improve her living situation and to engage in business activities.

Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PMPC) | Farming | Viet Nam

Son Van Commun in Dong Hai, Thanh Hoa is by the side of the river. The population is dispersed, and the people suffered many hardships. Group 03 Son Van Commune, Dong Hai has 7 members. Mrs. Le Thi Thuy Van, born 1984, is group leader. Despite of young age, she is very active. She heard about the Fund and encouraged her neighbors to borrow money to find ways to change their poor lives that have long been linked to agriculture. Her husband is Mr. Nguyen Hong Trung, born 1983, and they have a small daughter. With the money, they will buy pigs and chickens to raise. They also sell fruits in spare time. Each members in the group borrows VND1,626,900 (about USD92).

Community | Agriculture | Peru

The St. Joseph of Nahuinpuquio Village Bank is loacted in Huancavelica state. This community is located on the highway to Huancayo, where "La Morenada," a traditional Carnaval dance, brings community members together. There is a lot of commerce and agriculture in the region; local produce is exported to Huancayo and other cities.
Maria Victoria is married and has five children. She sells potatoes and vegetables in the Acobamba and Izachaca Markets. She says that before FINCA (Kiva's Field Partner) came, there were no loans for the people of her village, or if there were, banks asked them for property titles or other financial guarantees. With the help of her FINCA loans, Maria Victoria buys more vegetables in Huancayo and earns more. Her dream is to open a dry goods store.

Amna Ashiq Hussain Group | Pakistan

Amna baji is a 48-year-old married lady who resides in the city of Borewala in Pakistan. She owns a two-room brick house which she has been living in for the past 5 years. Amna baji is an uneducated lady, but she knows the importance of education; in fact, she believes that knowledge takes a man or woman from the earth to the sky. Her husband's name is Ashiq Hussain, and he is a policeman who works at the police station nearest to her community. Amna baji has two kids: one son and one daughter. Her son works in a factory, while her daughter is in the 3rd standard.

Community | Clothing | Peru

El Bancomunal Los Claveles de Morenita is located in the Huancavelica district of Yauli, Ambato. Amidst the trees and pastures, lie the chozas adobe houses made with straw. The countryside is beautiful and there are plenty of domesticated fowl in the area, hens and chickens. The principal activity of the community is the production of mantas pullas colorful belts made of synthetic fiber and also with Alpaca wool.

Community | Clothing | Cambodia

Sala Lek Pram Mrs. Kimly Chay is the group leader. She sells clothes in the local market. Her business activity improved largely lately, so she would like to expand her business. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kimly Chay does not have enough money to buy more new fashion clothes for her customers. Thus, she decided to ask for a loan for this purpose. Mrs. Kimly Chay is 55 and the mother of two children, one of whom owns a small restaurant where breakfast is sold to the villagers. The other one is a cake maker and seller. Her husband, Mr. Sun Erm, is unemployed and he usually assists his wife in the market.

Community | Retail | Tanzania

Hussein David, is married with a one year old daughter. He sells spare parts, which he started one year ago. He opens his business from 2am to 7.30pm daily and is able to make a monthly profit of about $146.
hopes to get a new loan to help increase business. Hussein will share this loan with his subgroup members selling clothes, soft drinks, beer, and clothes.

Community | Retail | Tanzania

Maimuna Hassan 51 years old, is a widow with four children (ages 28, 26, 24 and 20). She has operated two businesses - a retail shop and used clothing sales - for two years now. Working from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, she is able to make a monthly profit of about $95.

Maimuna took out one previous loan from Tujijenge Tanzania to start the used clothing business. She now hopes for a new loan to increase capital for both businesses. In the picture, Maimuna is third from right middle row with a black scarf.

Community | Retail | Pakistan

Nasira Quasim is 42 years old, and her husband is 50 years old. She resides in a two room brick house in the city of Kasur, Pakistan. Nasira make decorative embroidery and sells flour for a living. She has been joined by several other entrepreneurs to form a loan group: Violet wants a loan for her paint business; Hamidan wants a loan for her shuttering business; Naziran wants loan for her cycles business; and Shaheen wants a loan for her animal food business. The loan funds will be distributed among the group members, each of whom will invest in their own businesses. The members mutually guarantee one another's loans. If one member does not repay, the other members are responsible and will make up the difference.

Girasoles Group | Community | Retail | Nicaraqua

The Girasoles Group (Sunflowers) is made up of three diligent, hard-working and decisive people. The coordinator is Mr. Dismar de Jesus Calero Hernandez who is a clothing merchant for four years now. He will invest in a greater quantity and variety of merchandise such as blouses, shirts, pants, jeans, skirts, etc.

His co-members in the group are Patricia del Carmen Garcia who sells used clothing and Ana Cristina Torre who sells clothing and cosmetics, more of which she will purchase using the loan.

Community | Retail | Peru

Mrs. Davalos Fuertes has two small children. She is part of the group " Amarilis Del Establo" whose 8 other associates live in the Ramiro Priale area, a district of Carabayllo.

Davalos Fuertes is in charge of running her grocery store, a job demanding her entire day. She began the business with the encouragement of her brother who encouraged her and assured her success. Business hasn't been bad but she continues working with enthusiasm to grow the business since this is her main source of income. Thanks to the business she can cover her familie's expenses, slowly fix up her home, and pay for her children's schooling. Her next goal is to pay off her home. The loan requested would be vested towards the purchase of beverages to stock the grocery store.

Entrepreneur | Retail | Benin

Dona Georges Djidonou was born in 1975 in Aguegue, in the district of Oueme. He is married to Felicienne Kpatinvoh, a hairdresser. Georges has three children, all of whom attend school. He has lived with his family in Ekpe, in the commune of Seme-Podji, for eight years. The couple shares the family's responsibilities and expenses. George stopped attending school before high school. To support his family, he sells a variety of products, such as canned sardines, tomatoes, milk, peanut and palm oil, eggs, pasta, soap and plastic bags. His boutique is located in his home. He has had this business for five years. A seasoned client of ALIDe, he has already received and repaid three previous loans. He has requested this fourth loan to strengthen his business and improve sales which will increase his income.

Bridge over Troubled Waters

Prevention, intervention, and education services. Serving 2,433 youth ages 14 - 24 each year, Bridge offers a comprehensive range of health, educational, career and housing services. Bridge is the only agency in the Boston area to provide a continuum of age-appropriate services.

Alternatives to Community Development and Environment.

REEP: Roxbury Environmental Empowerment Program. ACE builds the power of communities of color and lower income communities in New England to eradicate environmental racism and classism and achieve environmental justice. We believe that everyone has the right to a healthy environment and to be decision-makers in issues affecting our communities.

CRINE

is a non-profit HIV/AIDS research organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with AIDS by publicizing new treatment options, facilitating access to life-prolonging medications, and uncovering community resources. They have been instrumental in helping Boston-area AIDS patients and their families cope with this devastating disease.

The Charles River Center,

provides employment and job training, residential homes, therapeutic day programs, and recreational programs for children and adults with mental  retardation and other developmental disabilities.