Emmanuel Raba- A story of determination
Emmanuel, a 50 year-old resident of Meka village in Pangani District is severely handicapped by polio. Because of his inability to feed his family of 8 people, his wife left him along with 4 children. Emmanuel, with his strong sense of determination, never gave up and kept on running a small business of selling cigarettes at his door step. He was barely making a half a dollar a day, trying to ensure that his children are provided with a minimum daily intake of food. Through Islamic Help livelihood project, he was given a small wooden shop and stock of groceries. After 6 months of his setting up shop, supported by Islamic Help, Emmanuel is earning from 6 up to 10 dollars a day, which made him one of the most affluent people in his village.
Success Story of Matuwa Ally - A journey to prosperity
Matuwa Ally 47, was among the poorest farmers, hard hit by shortage of rains. His crops production reduced to 50% and he had no reliant source of income to feed his family of 5 people. He was recommended by the Village Council to receive an improved Holstein breed cow accompanied by livestock management training. Over the past three years, the cow has reproduced three times providing him with surplus of milk sufficient to feed his entire family. Thank to $5 which he is earning daily, his family is able to afford all the basic life necessities. He has been capable of providing his children with a house and sustainable resilience to future shocks. “Every time my cows produce breed, I can see my savings growing like never before, people are offering me a price 3 time greater than that for local cows”. Following Ally’s footsteps, other people have started purchasing improved breed cows.
Success Story of Fatuma - From poverty to hope
Fatuma 34, is a brave woman of Mseko village in District Pangani. She is a widow looking after her 4 children. She used to work 14 hours a day on farms or selling fallen coconuts to feed her children to earn just half a dollar a day. She could remember many days when her kids slept without food.
She was selected as a beneficiary of the bee keeping project and trained as well as equipped in managing bee hives. She is hoping to expand her business every year from the money earned through honey harvesting.
She said, “I can see my future very clearly now, I can see my children going to better school, and eating well and clothing properly.” I can plan for my future with more hives added to my garden each year. “One day I will be rich lady of the town”
Drop of water is worth more than a sack of gold
Mariam 37, is living with her 3 children in Meka village, Pangani District. She used to get up at 5 early in the morning to travel 3 kilometers to fetch two buckets of water from the river side. It took her almost two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening every day to arrange water for daily drinking and cooking. “Half part of our lives is spent on fetching water for drinking”. The water that she used to fetch was not safe for consumption purposes, therefore her children often fell sick from cholera and other serious waterborne diseases. ‘This is what I am seeing from childhood; you can miss anything but cannot miss two trips of water daily. Having a water source near your house is just like a big luxury that only lucky people can have, it saves time and gives clean water for drinking” Having safe water source in the village is like a lifeline for people.
Islamic Help installed a hand-pump just a few yards away from Mariam’s house, helping 378 households to have a reliable access to safe water source. There is always a long queue of people happily waiting to fetch clean and safe water from the well. Because of the time Mariam has been able to save, she started growing vegetables in her kitchen garden, hoping to grow more in the near future which can provide her with an extra income.
Tiba Story- From desperation to decent living
When Tiba Rashid, 9, lost both of her parents to HIV, the girl’s aunt decided to take care of her. Nevertheless, very desperate conditions in which the woman was living didn’t allow the girl to continue with her education. After leaving the school, Tiba’s main daily activity became fetching water from a very far-located water source, amongst other numerous house chores. “I used to fetch water every day. Every time I reached home with a filled bucket of water, I found the other bucket empty so I kept fetching water from very far all day long. I used to be so exhausted that I could sleep on floor”.
Luckily, Islamic Help found out about the harsh situation of Tiba and admitted her to Islamic Help Eco Village. She is enjoying the best of her life now, living with her 20 friends and making most of the best class facilities. She has resumed her studies and is a very brave student in grade 4. “I can’t imagine one having a better life than this.’’
She wants to become a caring nurse, a dream she will continue to chase in the Eco Village for the rest of her childhood.
Quality & Accountability
Why we focus on women
Rural women globally are facing hindered access to resources, knowledge and services, all of which are underpinned by persistent gender inequalities. Islamic Help follows Women in Development (WID) approach placing women at the forefront of development initiatives.
Investing in women is the single most effective antidote to the world’s pressing problems: war, poverty, disease. Women play a special role in society by contributing not only to family, but to community well-being as a whole.