Small loans help Esmira find her place...
“We lost all our belongings. We had no house and no work, and my husband had serious heart problems”.
"My first loan was for US$300 in 1998. Thanks to you (World Vision’s microfinance institution Azercredit) I was able to expand my business”, says Esmira.
I think God sent Azercredit to find me and help me Life isn’t easy in the bustling Azerbaijan capital, Baku. Living expensive increase by the day and the population has increased noticeably over the last five years. Many people come to Baku to work from the regions where employment opportunities are very limited.
Esmira continues to recall painfully the time when her family was forced to abandon their peaceful life. “We finally found a dormitory, with the help of our relatives. The manager of the dormitory gave us a room. It was very humid, dark, only black walls and without a door”.
The upheaval of that time is freshly etched onto Esmira’s face, as if it happened just months ago, not years. Because her husband was no longer able to work, Esmira took on the mantle of breadwinner and started to sell vegetables in the market where she first met World Vision’s Azercredit staff.
“I think God sent Azercredit to find me and help me. I learned about this opportunity and went after it with a great hope in my heart. I will never forget how you supported me. Thanks to you I was able to expand my business and repair my room in the dormitory and raise my children. Then I decided to apply for larger loans and diversify my business by selling clothes. The business is going well and I am about to take another loan for US$ 2,200 dollars from Azercredit”.
I bought a dowry for my daughter with the income from my business too Esmira is not just an entrepreneur, but also a caring mother of two children and a grandmother. “I raised them with the help of my small business. My daughter graduated from university and then she got married and now has a little baby. I bought a dowry for my daughter with the income from my business too”, Esmira says laughing.
Esmira’s son is 21 and helps her in the market. “I will do my best to give my son the chance of a higher education. He should live in a different world”.
It’s difficult to leave Esmira and her little corner in the market. She easily reaches out to people and strangers soon become friends because of her warmth and openness. She inspires others not to give up in difficult circumstances, but to work hard and believe for change and better things.
-Ends-
"My first loan was for US$300 in 1998. Thanks to you (World Vision’s microfinance institution Azercredit) I was able to expand my business”, says Esmira.
I think God sent Azercredit to find me and help me Life isn’t easy in the bustling Azerbaijan capital, Baku. Living expensive increase by the day and the population has increased noticeably over the last five years. Many people come to Baku to work from the regions where employment opportunities are very limited.
Esmira continues to recall painfully the time when her family was forced to abandon their peaceful life. “We finally found a dormitory, with the help of our relatives. The manager of the dormitory gave us a room. It was very humid, dark, only black walls and without a door”.
The upheaval of that time is freshly etched onto Esmira’s face, as if it happened just months ago, not years. Because her husband was no longer able to work, Esmira took on the mantle of breadwinner and started to sell vegetables in the market where she first met World Vision’s Azercredit staff.
“I think God sent Azercredit to find me and help me. I learned about this opportunity and went after it with a great hope in my heart. I will never forget how you supported me. Thanks to you I was able to expand my business and repair my room in the dormitory and raise my children. Then I decided to apply for larger loans and diversify my business by selling clothes. The business is going well and I am about to take another loan for US$ 2,200 dollars from Azercredit”.
I bought a dowry for my daughter with the income from my business too Esmira is not just an entrepreneur, but also a caring mother of two children and a grandmother. “I raised them with the help of my small business. My daughter graduated from university and then she got married and now has a little baby. I bought a dowry for my daughter with the income from my business too”, Esmira says laughing.
Esmira’s son is 21 and helps her in the market. “I will do my best to give my son the chance of a higher education. He should live in a different world”.
It’s difficult to leave Esmira and her little corner in the market. She easily reaches out to people and strangers soon become friends because of her warmth and openness. She inspires others not to give up in difficult circumstances, but to work hard and believe for change and better things.
-Ends-
Share