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RESOURCEFULNESS
Until two years ago, Ramata was illiterate. Now she acts as secretary for the women’s association in Douentza in the West African country of Mali.
NEF/Mali helped form the women’s association to fill the role of a community lending organization to make small business loans to women seeking to bolster their family income. Because banks are not equipped to make very small loans—to purchase a goat, a sewing machine, a stock of snack foods and drinks—the associations have begun to help women build or expand a business.
The women’s desire to secure loans provided the association the leverage to require literacy classes and a business plan before a loan would be approved. Thus the solution to one community need became the catalyst for creating several integrated projects to enhance the lives of women—all designed by the women themselves. |
