Noor Zia's Story

Noor Zia says when she received her first microfinance loan it was like “a bright sun shining into her life.”

That loan of 7,000 AFs – just $148 – enabled her to start a business of her very own: a restaurant. For the young mother of nine, this was her hope of a better future.

“My husband and I left Afghanistan to give our children a better life,” she says. “But life in Iran – where we went to live – was hard too. Many days we could not give our children enough to eat, even though we both worked such long hours at many jobs: cleaning houses, washing clothes for other families, working as field hands for farmers. I felt bad that I could not give my children what they needed.”

The couple decided to return home. They packed up what little they had and made the trip with hope in their hearts that better days were ahead. But starting again was not easy. For months they experienced the same hardships they thought they had left behind.

Then Noor Zia learned about the microfinance loan program available in her community. That first loan enabled her to open her own restaurant. It was nothing fancy: Noor Zia's husband cooked simple meals like vegetables, rice and beans. But the restaurant was theirs and it was the start they needed. With the income they earned Noor Zia was able to quickly pay back the loan and have a savings of 4,000 AFs left over! She kept investing in the restaurant and their clientele grew.

Today Noor Zia and her husband can afford to enroll their children in school and put food on the table each night.

“The loan saved me from agonizing conditions,” Noor Zia says with an excited smile on her face. “Now I am hopeful that tomorrow will be a better day for my children because of this loan program. We are grateful and indebted – we will be until the end of our lives.”