End 4 Hunger http://www.end4hunger.org Abolish World Hunger Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:23:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Augusta http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/augusta-using-microfinance-now-to-benefit-future-generations/ http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/augusta-using-microfinance-now-to-benefit-future-generations/#comments Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:00:51 +0000 admin http://www.end4hunger.org/?p=200 Continue reading →]]> Like Mother, Like Daughter: Augusta’s Success Story Augusta

After a flood that damaged her community, Augusta was desperate for a way to make money. “I had the idea to start a food business the way my mother did. It provided for our needs,” she remembers. But without any startup funds, Augusta’s loan requests were repeatedly met with rejection.

Little did Augusta know that Freedom from Hunger was already a supportive presence in her community. ESPOIR, a local organization that partners with Freedom from Hunger to provide loans and business education, was not concerned about Augusta’s financial status. Even with no credit history and little education, ESPOIR granted Augusta her first loan of $250 because of Freedom from Hunger’s training and support. “With that money, I bought three tables, chairs, and some cooking pots,” she recalls.

It’s been five years since Augusta took out her first loan with ESPOIR, and her business, a small restaurant named Comida El Paso Lolita after her mother, is thriving. She can not only afford to put food on her family’s table, but also the tables of 120 customers a night.

The trainings designed by Freedom from Hunger have been invaluable to Augusta in managing her business and finances. She says, “I think part of my success is due to learning from my mother. That and the loans and education… it’s like a chain.”

Because of her success, Augusta now feels happy and secure about her daughter’s future too. “She wants to run the business herself one day. I have this dream that she’ll succeed,” Augusta says. “I hope something like this will exist if she ever needs capital.”

Augusta’s life was transformed because of your support, and now she can have hope for her daughter’s future. Through the combination of education and microfinance, Freedom from Hunger is helping over 2 million women and their families achieve lasting self-reliance.

You can empower other women to become self-reliant like Augusta and her daughter with just four clicks. Start your own movement to end world hunger at End 4 Hunger today.

]]> http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/augusta-using-microfinance-now-to-benefit-future-generations/feed/ 1 Helene http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/helene-demonstrates-that-microfinance-and-education-can-end-world-hunger/ http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/helene-demonstrates-that-microfinance-and-education-can-end-world-hunger/#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:50:28 +0000 admin http://end4hunger.org/?p=89 Continue reading →]]> A life that demonstrates that microfinance and education can end world hunger Other mothers in nearby villages still struggle with poverty, disease, and chronic hunger. They watch their children waste away, with no hope that things will ever change.

But Helene’s eyes shine with pride as she looks at her healthy, laughing, six-month-old daughter. Thanks to Freedom from Hunger’s Credit with Education program, her four children are all healthy—and her family has a future full of promise and hope.

With her loan, Helene expanded her business of selling homemade beverages and foods from her garden in Madagascar. She is deeply proud of her increased income and profits, and equally enthusiastic about the valuable lessons she’s learned about caring for her children.

“I exclusively breastfed my baby until she was six months old, and she has always been well. I learned this in the Credit with Education program.”

Worldwide, we’ve given over two million women the tools they need to end chronic hunger and poverty. You can help us reach more women who want a chance to give their families a better life by joining end4hunger.]]> http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/helene-demonstrates-that-microfinance-and-education-can-end-world-hunger/feed/ 3 Rita http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/rita-demonstrates-merit-of-microfinance-for-ending-world-hunger/ http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/rita-demonstrates-merit-of-microfinance-for-ending-world-hunger/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:26:34 +0000 admin http://end4hunger.org/?p=41 Continue reading →]]> Demonstrates the merits of microfinance for ending world hunger Rita farms mangos and harvests them twice each year. Before she joined Freedom from Hunger’s Credit with Education program, she worked hard to stretch her modest profits to the next harvest. But in that last month before the mangos ripened, hunger struck her family without fail.

In Ghana, people call this the “hungry season.” It is the time when children grow thin and common childhood illnesses become deadly, especially for the youngest ones. This is the time of year when having money to see a doctor and buy medicine is more important than ever.

Through Freedom from Hunger’s partner, Rita received an $80 loan and simple business education. She now farms chili peppers, beans, and okra next to her mango grove. These crops can be harvested throughout the year, ensuring a steady income.

Rita says, “I had never saved before. Now I have savings to tap when it’s time for the school fees and other needs, including more food. My family is better now. We eat better.”

Many people who meet Rita might assume that she is too poor to repay a loan. Five hungry children! And a small plot of mango trees doesn’t amount to much collateral. However, Rita stands as one of more than two million women who Freedom from Hunger serves, continually proving that the power of combining credit and education in the hands of women and mothers is unstoppable.

There are still countless women like Rita waiting for the opportunity to break free from hunger. Join the movement in an end4hunger today!]]> http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/rita-demonstrates-merit-of-microfinance-for-ending-world-hunger/feed/ 7 Segundina http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/segundina-is-a-model-for-microfinance-and-world-hunger-alleviation/ http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/segundina-is-a-model-for-microfinance-and-world-hunger-alleviation/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:37:56 +0000 admin http://end4hunger.org/?p=1 Continue reading →]]> A model for microfinance and world hunger alleviation In Segundina’s rural Peruvian community, hunger is a seasonal problem. Right after the harvest, people tend to have enough to eat, but in the months when the harvest stockpiles have run low (September–February), families routinely go hungry. And, as their food supply decreases, illness increases, especially in young children.

But Segundina has a reason to hope that this year will be different. In addition to supplementing her family’s income by selling milk from the cow purchased with her micro-loan, Segundina is learning how to manage her business and her loan, keeping her payments punctual and setting aside a little money in savings. Segundina is not only enjoying the pride and dignity that comes with owning her own business, but also her growing status in her community. With her newfound confidence, Segundina hopes that when she reaches her sixties she will be one of the women asked to advise the community about how to invest government aide and grants.

Through microfinance, Freedom from Hunger’s partner is able to help rural Peruvians purchase livestock, open businesses, and increase their potential to provide for their families. The best way to extend this opportunity to more women like Segundina and break the cycle of chronic hunger is to support an end4hunger today. In just 4 minutes, you can help spread the word.]]> http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/segundina-is-a-model-for-microfinance-and-world-hunger-alleviation/feed/ 1 Nancy http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/nancy-breaks-the-cycle-of-chronic-hunger-with-microfinance-and-savings/ http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/nancy-breaks-the-cycle-of-chronic-hunger-with-microfinance-and-savings/#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:00:44 +0000 admin http://end4hunger.org/?p=51 Continue reading →]]> Breaking the cycle of chronic hunger with microfinance and savings Nancy Santana, who lives in Ecuador, used to sell motor oil seven days a week so that she could provide her children with enough food to survive, but the money she earned each day was never enough to truly alleviate their hunger.

She knew she needed help and turned to Fundación ESPOIR, Freedom from Hunger’s microfinance partner. Nancy soon received her first loan for 250,000 sucres (US$48). Wanting to give back to her community, Nancy gave credit to taxi drivers who couldn’t afford her oil, but this soon destroyed her business.

Determined to not give up, she stayed with the credit association. She decided to try a new business—selling bottled water and cooking gas. In addition to her loans, Nancy says she was taught “how to handle money for my business, how to invest money back into the business.”

Fortunately, she also learned to save for life’s emergencies. During a routine Pap test offered through the credit association, Nancy learned she needed a hysterectomy. With support from the women in her credit association and her ESPOIR field agent, Nancy had the surgery.

Because of her savings, Nancy did not have to lose business once again. This was truly the ultimate feeling of empowerment: surviving a life-threatening disease while keeping her children fed and keeping alive her dream of owning a business.

Nancy’s achievements stand as a model to the women in her community…women who now see that, given the right tools, they too can take control of their own lives. Help us extend these life-transforming and life-saving opportunities to others by supporting end4hunger.]]> http://www.end4hunger.org/womens-stories/nancy-breaks-the-cycle-of-chronic-hunger-with-microfinance-and-savings/feed/ 2