Testimonials

Abandoned by her husband, Elena was left to care for her 5 children alone.  Elena’s extreme poverty led her to begin work as a washerwoman, ironer, and housekeeper. With no daycare options, Elena was forced to leave her children at home while she worked, often late into the night. Oftentimes, her young children did not know how to feed or care for themselves while she was away at work. Ten years ago, she returned home at night to find her 11 month old daughter running a very high fever. Although her daughter survived the meningitis, she requires full-time care.

With the help of the Global Fund for Widows’ Micro-Social Capital program, Elena launched a small grocery store in her house. Now she is able to work and earn a good living while caring for her disabled daughter. With the profits of her grocery, Elena is not only able to provide food and shelter for her children, she is also able to finance the expensive transportation of her older daughters to school.  Most importantly, Elena takes her Social Contract commitment seriously, and makes payments from her profits to a Social Fund, the proceeds of which will be used to launch another virtuous cycle for another widow in her community.

Massouda is a 55 year-old widow. She has three children; two married daughters and a young married son. She lives with her son and his family in the same house. Massouda receives a 320£ EGY (US$45) pension.Massouda joined the Amal Project Social Fund with some skills in livestock breeding. She none-the-less took training courses to improve her skills.  She soon qualified for a 200£ EGY (US$71) loan to buy feed for cattle. Her project succeeded and she now earns a strong profit fattening livestock. Additionally, she is using her profits to buy more cattle to further grow her income.