Keria Nusraba Awel is a 38-year-old woman whom many call ‘The Strong Woman.’ Three years ago, when she lost her husband, all she was left with was a monthly pension of 6,000 birr to support her 11 family members.
Life, however, was unforgiving. She was required to pay 16,000 birr every month to rent a house large enough for her entire family. Her children, Semira and Hidaya, her parents, and her brothers who are attending university all live in this home
Keria holds a first degree in Teaching and later earned a degree in Marketing Management. With the income she had at the time, she could not manage her life. Therefore, she started a small coffee and tea shop to sustain herself. Due to unfavorable working conditions and the inconvenient location of her workplace, she could not expand her business as she wished. Although the income was barely enough for daily survival, she tried hard to increase it and continued her struggle.
It was during this time that a Woreda 6 expert, who knew VisionFund Microfinance through its social responsibility work, brought her case to the institution’s attention. Understanding that Keria’s main problem was the workplace, the institution quickly built and handed over a convenient workspace for her business. Now, she has a comfortable place she can go to work without fear every morning. She can use her experience to grow her business. She has been able to confidently offer her services to customers in a comfortable and clean workspace.
While serving customers at her new workplace, Keria shared how she felt about her current business activity, stating: “I earn up to 4,000 birr a day from this work. The beginning shows me that my business will expand. Therefore, tomorrow is bright for me because I will educate my children; I will help my family members who need support; I will educate my brothers and make them successful. I will always strive to face life on its own terms.”
Keria’s life experience is very telling. An opportunity of this kind is precious. Only visionaries make use of it. As an institution, VisionFund believes it is fulfilling to see the dreams of hard-working individuals come true with small but crucial support. That is exactly what happened.
