Boupha and her three children earned only five cents per day from farming and selling local snacks. In 2005, she received an initial loan of $85 from us and bought and raised three pigs. She sold those animals and used the money to buy some chickens and snacks in bulk. In 2007, she borrowed an additional $175 to buy land and construction materials for a house. In 2008, she expanded her business by adding mobile vending carts.

Today, Boupha is a micro-entrepreneur. In only four years, and with only $260 in loans, she went from being among  the lowest 10% in income of Cambodians to being among the highest 10%.

Mahesh was a porter at a rest area in a border town in Southern Nepal. He carried bags and cargo whenever someone wanted help, competing against hundreds of other men for the limited work. He earned an average of ten cents per day. In 2007, Manesh approached us for help becoming a micro-entrepreneur. He had an idea to sell fresh fruit and snacks to the vehicle and bus passengers who stopped at the rest area. We loaned him $100 for startup capital. Today, his business flourishes, and several family members work for him. He earns nearly ten times what he did before and is in the process of opening a second location. Mahesh is optimistic about life and his family’s future.

Bhanja, worked as a seasonal laborer in Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), India, earning only 21 cents per day. In 2006, using microcredit loans totaling less than $250, this mother of five was able to become a successful micro-entrepreneur raising chickens. She hasn’t missed a loan payment and will be debt free in 2010. Today, the family has a home and food on the table. Bhanja’s children are in school and have healthcare. They have hope for the first time in their lives.

Freelima lived in South Central Los Angeles, California, in an area best known for its gang violence, drugs, and poverty. Freelima was 28 years old, a mother of four, and a grandmother of two. She had not graduated from high school, and now she was unemployed and on welfare. She lived with her mother and grandmother, but she had no skills, no future, and no hope.

Freelima, however, could make a great Sweet Potato Pie. When she came to us in 2005, she was tired of her circumstances. She wanted $1,200 to start a business and become a micro-entrepreneur. We loaned her the money and provided a variety of experts to mentor, guide, and coach her. She has paid us back. Now, she is off welfare, has two employees, and owns a business making Sweet Potato Pies that generates over $135,000 a year in revenue. Most importantly, Freelima has hope again.