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Sixty dollars may not seem like much money, but it’s made a lifetime of difference to 20 women in Niger, a developing West African nation.

“Before I had this financial assistance, my business consisted of selling a few things like tea and sugar from a little table,” said Fati, a 60-year-old widow and mother of six children.

“It was not enough to meet my expenses.”

Fati received a $60 interest-free loan from a women’s micro-credit initiative, a relatively low-cost project supported by Samaritan’s Purse. The initiative helps a group of women establish a group “savings fund” so they can assist themselves and others through small entrepreneurial projects.

The loans help each woman develop a business and generate income for her and her family. Each week, Fati takes a bit of her income and pays some of her loan back to the “savings fund.”

The loans are repaid in nine months, providing the fund with capital for micro-loans to help more women.
Micro-credit programs in the developing world began during the 1970s and today, can be found in many impoverished countries. Bangladesh has used these programs to help reduce its rate of poverty by almost 20 per cent since 1991.

In Niger, Fati used her loan to add rice, oil, and wood for cooking fires to her product line, but found business slow at first.

“I began to lose any hope of reimbursing the loan,” she recalled. “But, thanks be to God, now my business is going well. And even if I can’t save much yet, at least I’m now able to meet the needs of my family and respect the reimbursement schedule.”

Beneficiaries of micro-loan programs have shown a remarkable commitment to repayment – up to 98 per cent, according to one micro-credit organization.

After the loan is paid, Fati is confident she will be able to save money and make more improvements to her business.

“Looking at these efforts to improve our quality of life, I can only thank and praise with all my heart the people who gave this money to help us.”

By supporting projects such as micro-loan programs, you can help women develop entrepreneurial skills and lift their families out of the endless cycle of poverty.

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Pray Please pray that God will restore hope and dignity to hurting women around the world, and that He will provide abundant resources, effective partnerships, and meaningful opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.		Give Partner with Samaritan’s Purse to break the cycle of poverty and exploitation that is oppressing women in the developing world. Donate Here.