Working Her Way Out of Poverty
Working Her Way Out of Poverty
The first loan of 5000 Rs. ($83) was used to purchase leather, rexine, ready-made soles, thread and other material for their shoe shop. As production increased, sales also picked up. Slowly Kishwar and her husband were able to pay back the moneylender. Savings in the first year of the Kashf loan were nominal because of this, but now their weekly profits are between 1000-2000 Rs. ($16-30). Kishwar plans to take the next loan and increase their product range.
Recently, one of Kishwar’s daughters had to submit the equivalent of $16 as a fee for her college entrance exam. Unable to come up with such a large amount of money on short notice, Kishwar applied for and received a consumption loan from Kashf to cover the expense. Though illiterate, Kishwar understands the value of education. She has chosen to use the family’s meager resources to educate her two daughters, rather than her five sons, because she believes her daughters are more serious about their education. In a society where male children are given first priority in everything, particularly schooling, Kishwar has bravely broken with tradition and set an example for her entire community.
Kishwar has aspirations for sending both her daughters to college and also helping her sons establish individual, reliable and profitable enterprises. In two years, with Kashf’s sustained assistance she sees her family’s business thriving like never before with ten employees and a telephone installed at the shop.
Kashf’s impact on Kishwar’s life has been more than just financial. She is now a center manager (five groups of five clients each form one center) and says that she can confidently address and advise her center members on different issues, whereas earlier she was too timid to say more than a few words to anybody. With this new sense of self-esteem and confidence, Kishwar mentors other women in her community, encouraging them to take advantage of the opportunity provided by Kashf and to take control of their economic situations and make better lives for themselves and their families.
Working Her Way Out of Poverty - To learn more about this author, visit Grameen Foundation's Website.
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Kishwar lives with her family in a slum near the railway station in Lahore, Pakistan. Health and sanitation conditions are extremely poor, causing disease and infections to run rampant. Kishwar’s husband and sons together run their shoe-making and selling business-selling from the shop and also taking orders from wholesalers. In 2001, their business suffered huge losses and they nearly went bankrupt. The family took a loan from a moneylender to rejuvenate their business. Unfortunately, the exorbitant interest rates, coupled with harsh penalties for late repayments, caused the family’s debt to spiral out of control. Desperate for a way out, Kishwar discovered Kashf Foundation through a friend. Kishwar was wary of taking another loan, but her husband encouraged her to have faith.
The first loan of 5000 Rs. ($83) was used to purchase leather, rexine, ready-made soles, thread and other material for their shoe shop. As production increased, sales also picked up. Slowly Kishwar and her husband were able to pay back the moneylender. Savings in the first year of the Kashf loan were nominal because of this, but now their weekly profits are between 1000-2000 Rs. ($16-30). Kishwar plans to take the next loan and increase their product range.
Recently, one of Kishwar’s daughters had to submit the equivalent of $16 as a fee for her college entrance exam. Unable to come up with such a large amount of money on short notice, Kishwar applied for and received a consumption loan from Kashf to cover the expense. Though illiterate, Kishwar understands the value of education. She has chosen to use the family’s meager resources to educate her two daughters, rather than her five sons, because she believes her daughters are more serious about their education. In a society where male children are given first priority in everything, particularly schooling, Kishwar has bravely broken with tradition and set an example for her entire community.
Kishwar has aspirations for sending both her daughters to college and also helping her sons establish individual, reliable and profitable enterprises. In two years, with Kashf’s sustained assistance she sees her family’s business thriving like never before with ten employees and a telephone installed at the shop.
Kashf’s impact on Kishwar’s life has been more than just financial. She is now a center manager (five groups of five clients each form one center) and says that she can confidently address and advise her center members on different issues, whereas earlier she was too timid to say more than a few words to anybody. With this new sense of self-esteem and confidence, Kishwar mentors other women in her community, encouraging them to take advantage of the opportunity provided by Kashf and to take control of their economic situations and make better lives for themselves and their families.
Working Her Way Out of Poverty - To learn more about this author, visit Grameen Foundation's Website.
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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