Diligence alone is not enough

Zinash works from dawn till dusk. Despite this, she is in need. Our donors offer women like her a way out.

Save, learn, get started!

To combat poverty, we must empower women: In the Hambela Wamena district, we have established eight self-help and savings groups, each with around 150 members. We provide training and start-up capital. The women typically take out microloans of around 50 Swiss francs to establish their small businesses. These sums are sufficient to sustainably transform the lives of mothers and their children.

1. "I am alone"

Five years ago, Zinash Tadese's husband died of tuberculosis; he was only 35. Since then, she has borne the responsibility for the family alone.

Witwe Zinash zeigt ein Bild ihres verstorbenen Ehemannes

2. "We live hand to mouth"

Their entire concern is for their sons Abit, Mengistu, Addisu, and Elias. It is difficult to buy clothes and school supplies for all of them.

Mutter Zinash steht hinter ihren vier Kindern

3. "The interest rates are killing me."

Zinash buys sheep and makes soup from the meat and bones. She serves the broth in her house by the road. One sheep for the soup costs the equivalent of 56 Swiss francs. For Zinash, that's a lot of money. She has to borrow this sum from private lenders. They charge five percent interest – per day!

4. "I work from early morning until late at night."

Zinash bakes for her guests every day. Despite her hard work, she's not making ends meet: "My problem is that I can't save any money at all." Almost all of her earnings go towards paying interest.

5. "I'm trapped"

A fair microloan would allow her to escape the poverty trap of interest payments. "I could significantly increase my daily profit," says Zinash. Instead of the equivalent of around 1.50 Swiss francs a day, almost three times that amount would be possible.

Mikrokreditnehmerin Zinash schaut nachdenklich

6. "This is my chance"

Menschen für Menschen has initiated savings and self-help groups. Now Zinash is learning how to run a small business efficiently. For months, the women save small amounts and demonstrate their ability to manage their finances. Once the group has been stable for several months, Menschen für Menschen provides start-up capital, around 50 Swiss francs per woman.

7. "It's about the children"

When women earn a reliable income, their children have a future: even the smallest crises no longer lead to exorbitant loans and misery. "Before, we sat at home in the dark," says Zinash. "Now we understand: we are just as capable as men."

8. “From the bottom of my heart: Thank you!”

“What I don’t know, I can learn from the other women,” says Zinash. When a woman urgently needs money, the group decides together who receives help first. Zinash’s turn is coming up soon; she’ll receive her first microloan. “Thank you for the support!” she says. “It’s changing our lives.”

Dear reader

Starting a business in Switzerland requires a lot of start-up capital. In Ethiopia, a few francs are often enough to change the course of a life: from poverty to a self-determined, dignified existence.

Many families live from day to day. They can't save anything. Despite their best efforts and hard work, they make no progress. Those without savings have to borrow money for every small business investment. Banks won't give the poorest families a loan. So they turn to private lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates. A large portion of their hard-earned income is thus immediately lost.

This is where we come in. Together with women in particular need, we establish savings and credit cooperatives. The women regularly save small amounts, learn to plan and calculate, and encourage one another. With additional start-up capital from Menschen für Menschen, the groups can grant microloans so that women can stabilize their existing small businesses or start new ones.

Thank you so much for making this work possible. Your support gives women the chance to escape the poverty trap on their own.

Claudio Capaul and Michael Kesselring
Co-Managing Directors Menschen für Menschen