2011 – Nicaraga - Edis Manuel Paramo López (Kiva)

Edis Manuel lives in the city of Masaya. He has worked for Enacal for nine years, maintaining a pipe that carries potable water. He is married and has three dependent children for whom he works hard in order to provide them with what they need.

One of the needs that Edis Manuel's family has right now is the need to improve the condition of the roof and floor of their home since we are in the winter season and their roof is no good. Their house floor is just bare ground. Their children are little and it is affecting their health.
Edis Manuel approached Ceprodel's office to request a loan so that he could buy sheets of corrugated metal, beams, cement and sand in order to make this improvement which will provide him with a decent home and a better quality of life for his children and his wife.

2011 - Costa Rica - Jessy Guzmán Galeano Alajuela,

 

Jessy Guzman G. is an entrepreneur who is concerned about his neighbours' health.

This is why he began to sell natural medicinal products four years ago, a business that has allowed him to get ahead and to help the people of his community.

He needs to buy more products to meet the growing demand, which is why he needs a loan of 598,000 Costa Rican Colones (CRC).

He is a member of the Canalete Communal Loan Company (Empresa de Crédito Comunal Canalete), one of the 100 member organizations that make up EDESA in Costa Rica.

2011– Mongolia - Batsuuri Ohidoo (Kiva)

 

Batsuuri O. is 30 years old and lives with his wife and two young children in Uvs province, Mongolia. He and his family live in a ger, a traditional Mongolian nomadic housing tent. His wife stays at home to take care of their little children.

Batsuuri operates a grocery business in his town. He provides his customers with potatoes which he plants and harvests himself. This year he was able to harvest six tons of potatoes. Batsuuri started his grocery business in 2006 and has gained a lot of experience. His monthly business profit is between 80,000 and 100,000 MNT. He uses his earnings to provide for his family.

In the future Batsuuri hopes for continued success and to increase the types of vegetables that he grows. He is requesting a 200,000 MNT loan to purchase more vegetables such as cabbages, beets and carrots for his grocery business.

2011 - Malawi- Dalitso Mbewe

June 2011
Dear Supporter,

My name is Dalitso Mbewe and I am happy to tell you how your support of ActionAid and The Next Step in Malawi has changed my life.

I am 31 years old and I live with my five children in the Mbwetu area of Lilongwe [Capital city of Malawi]. My husband left for South Africa in 2008 in search of greener pastures and I have not heard from him since.

When my husband was around, I depended on him to provide for our family. We never struggled to earn a living, but when he left the realities of life hit me. He left me just 500 Kwacha [£2]. I used this money to start selling doughnuts to try and earn a living. But business was not good. I tried selling groundnuts then later on resorted to selling pork fat. But to no avail. My children had to stop going to school because I could not afford to feed them in the morning or buy their books and uniforms.

I did not know what else to do. I had no qualifications to get a job and no collateral to get a bank loan to start a proper business.
But then I heard about a government initiative to promote adult education. I went to a literacy class, and this is where I met staff from the Lilongwe Urban Women's Forum, a partner of ActionAid.
Meeting them transformed my life. They gave me a loan of 7,000 Kwacha [£30] to start my own business. I decided to make and sell decorated clocks, which are popular here in Malawi. I use maize and bean seeds to decorate the clocks.

I make and sell about five to seven clocks a week and make a profit of about 5,500 Kwacha [£23] a week. I no longer struggle to look after my family. I can now send my children to school again and we all eat three meals a day.

I really appreciate the support that ActionAid is giving poor women like me. Plans are underway to train more women,
including myself, in other craft skills like candle and vase making, so that we can produce high quality products that can be sold for a good price. ActionAid is also supporting the construction of a craft centre to give women somewhere to sell their products.

The support from ActionAid and Lilongwe Urban Women's Forum has changed my life. I can now face the future with confidence.
Thank you!

Best wishes
Dalitso Mbwe

P.S. Enclosed is a photo of me holding one of my decorated clocks. I hope you like it.

2011 – Ethiopia - Teshager Feye

April 2011
Dear Supporter,

Imagine finding out you have HIV and feeling that your life is over. That is what happened to me.
Now imagine listening to a radio programme with uplifting stories from and about people living with HIV & AIDS and regaining your belief that you have a life worth living. That is also what happened to me, thanks to ActionAid and your support of The Next Step in Ethiopia.

Hello! My name is Teshager Feye. I am 25 years old and I'm currently in my third year studying statistics at Bahir Dar University in north Ethiopia. I have been asked by ActionAid to share my story with you and tell you how your support turned my life from despair to hope, thanks to a radio show ActionAid supports.

ActionAid works with a local organisation called Propride, who work on HIV & AIDS prevention, care, and support. One of their activities is to run a radio programme called 'Yibecial', which in Amharic means 'Enough'. The radio programme is aired for 30 minutes, three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. An estimated 2.5 million people, in a 100km radius of Addis Ababa, are believed to listen to this programme. I first started listening to this programme about five years ago, at a time in my life when I felt that everything had turned dark against me and I was in complete desperation having been rejected by my father.

But first, let me tell you a little bit about my background. 'I was born in Sedika Arsi, a rural community in central Ethiopia, about 250km from Addis Ababa. I was brought up in a family where children are considered a source of labour, as is the case in most rural areas, and therefore we were not encouraged to go to school. My mother died when I was only eight and I had to carry out farming work which was far beyond my physical capabilities.

My father didn't want me to go to school but I really wanted to. So, I made an agreement with him that I would go to school in the mornings and work with him for the rest of the day. I did well at school, completed primary school and progressed to secondary school. But about five years ago, I was very ill for many weeks. I was advised by the health centre to take an HIV test, which I did. The result was positive and I started to receive treatment and antiretroviral drugs.

Because of the stigma and fear surrounding HIV & AIDS my father didn't want me in his house and gave me three days to leave. In desperation I went to a friend who lives in Nazareth town about 100km from Addis Ababa. He kindly took me in and shared his only room and food with me.

This was when I started listening to Yibeqal. Listening to the personal experiences of people living with HIV & AIDS and the various informative programmes greatly revived my hope of living and even gave me hope that I could continue my education.
I wrote a letter to the radio programme describing my situation. I then received a telephone call and the staff there said they would come and meet with me the following week. They gave me lots of advice and support on how to live positively with HIV. They even linked me with a well-wishing individual who supported me with 50 Birr [E3] a month towards my living expenses.

With the encouragement and support of the Yibeqal staff, I completed my secondary education and welit to University. I am using what I have learned from Yibegal to help other students at University. I am a member of the anti-HIV & AIDS club and am actively involved in informing students about the disease and how to prevent it. I know that it was ignorance of the facts that led me to contract HIV and I want to prevent it happening to others.

I will graduate this summer, and my dream is to work for a charity that supports HIV & AIDS orphans.
I greatly value the contribution that The Next Step has made to my life and many others like me who have,found hope through the "Libecial' radio programmes.

I thank you very much for your support. Warm regards
Teshager Feye

PS: I have enclosed a photo of myself and one of the Yibeqal staff members, Fitsum Gorfu and Mintesinot Teshome, who helped to turn my life around.