When Obse Tolesa, a 25 year old
widow from the Oromia Region in Ethiopia, lost her husband, she was left to
care for herself and their 4 children; with no source of income.
She knew she had to do something
but she didn’t know what, until she discovered one of our self help groups.
The groups, help women like Obse
form strong bonds with other women in similar situations, receive skills
training, and gain access to low-interest loans that enable them to farm, raise
livestock, and start businesses.
Obse’s journey toward self
reliance, like many other women, began by becoming involved in creating her own
solutions.
The first step was to uncover the root
issues. Women like Obse are clearly the most vulnerable to the growing
poverty. No matter how desperately they try, the situation is often so dire
that to put food on the table meant begging or even being forced into the sex
trade.
Like everyone around her, Obse had
dreams and aspirations for what she could be. She hoped to raise animals that
she could sell at the market and, most of all, to become self-sufficient. Not
having to worry about whether her children would survive from one day to the
next was her goal.
Obse and others in the community
came together and began discussing a long-term vision for how they could
create a sustainable income, grow more food, and improve opportunities for
their children.
The vision needed to fit
their situation and they had to be able to grow and maintain it. They built
teams and, as a cooperative, they began to support one another through
low-interest microloans. Generous friends of HOPE International Development
Agency provided the initial funds and the groups voted on how to lend them out.
We provided Obse and the other
groups with training on how to manage the funds, how to run the group in
a way that members felt was fair, and how to pass the knowledge on to others.
As the women began to flourish and
earn more income, they would pay back their loans and eventually help other
groups of women.
Our role was to provide the initial
funding, the training, and the process that women like Obse needed to create a
new life for her family that is healthy, secure, stable, and free from fear.
When we move on to other
communities, we have every confidence that Obse and the groups in her region
will keep growing and thriving. Once our part is done, we will leave the work
in their capable hands because we know they will continue to transform their
lives in incredible ways.
