Butool's Story

When Butool signed up for a microfinance loan, she thought she would just be helping herself and her family...

The loan enabled her to purchase the supplies and materials she needed to open her own tailoring business in her village. Microfinance was a new idea to Butool, but she was willing to try - anything to help her family rise out of the poverty they'd been living in for so long.

"My husband always struggled to find work. He had never learned to read and so finding a good job was really hard," she says. "I had been raising our two children and also trying to earn money to support us. But we had very little - every day was a struggle."

Butool had always enjoyed sewing. What if she turned her hobby into a business?

She worked very hard to develop and promote her business to people. Soon, Butool had a regular list of customers eager to have her hem and repair their garments. Women in her village loved wearing the dresses she created. Butool and her husband still struggled to provide for their children, but they noticed that every day was becoming less and less of a challenge. She was soon able to pay off the loan and decided to take out another one to further develop her business.

As her neighbors watched Butool, they were impressed with her hard work and success. Many of them, too, were living in poverty, but were inspired to apply for their own microfinance loans. Butool showed them they could also have opportunities and hope. Family by family, Butool's community is being changed as they take steps to build an empowered, sustainable future.

Butool remembers the difficult times she, her husband and her children have faced.

"The microfinance program has been essential for us. We can now cope with the hard times of life. We know we can find our way out."