Encourage Women who are Working Their Families out of Poverty

Sherida Mkama lives with her husband and their ten children in Kamanga, Tanzania. Since 1995, all the money she made selling tomatoes at a local market went toward tuition and uniform fees for her children. Trapped in the cycle of poverty, Sherida had no reason to hope that things could get better.

Then Sherida learned of FINCA from a friend and she joined the Tugeme Village Banking group. She took out a first loan of $50. Sherida used her Village Bank loans to purchase spare parts for her bicycle so she could transport her tomatoes to the market and to buy seeds and fertilizer so she could grow her own tomatoes. After investing in her business and paying for her children's school fees, Sherida can now set aside savings for her family, and has a newfound sense of hope and confidence.

Of the 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty worldwide, 70 percent are women. Poor women are the least able to access credit, and yet they often provide a substantial portion - or all - of the family's income. This method of providing small loans, called microfinance, gives them the opportunity to build or expand businesses that become crucial sources of income and economic vitality.
You can play pivotal a role in this extraordinary effort to provide a hand-up to poor working women around the world. If you have the means, a small loan can forever change the life a poor woman seeking an opportunity - not a hand-out. Right now, you can send a message of hope to a woman who is struggling to provide herself and her family with a better life.