Mary

We met Mary in 2018 in her village just outside Lilongwe. At the time, Mary was working hard trying to make ends meet. As the main bread winner in her family, the pressure was on her to provide for her two children. She did whatever work was available; washing clothes, working in the field and collecting water for builders who were constructing homes in her area. She worked hard and was willing to do whatever work came her way, but she was struggling to provide for her family’s needs. 

Mary joined our tailoring group and trained for six months. At first, she didn’t know how to use the peddle sewing machine, but quickly figured it out. Learning how to sew from scratch was difficult, but she persevered and kept at it! She also participated in weekly Business classes and Biblical Based Trauma Healing sessions. She learned how to make a business plan, save, and find a market for her items. 

After six months, Mary moved on to the practical part of her training. She began taking orders and learning what it was like to have good customer service and find clients. After a year of hard work, Mary graduated from the tailoring program and launched her own business. Our team continues to check on Mary and give her business advice and trouble shoot any issues that pop up. 

Mary’s business launched three months ago and she is encouraged by the success she is seeing. She has many customers in her community. She has been able to invest in multiple savings plans and continues to be focused and dedicated to her business. Through her tailoring business, she has been able to keep sending her children to school and provide for their needs at home. It has also helped her not have to rely on sporadic part time work, but has a better stable source of income and also gives her the choice of multiple sources of income. She is currently building a small shop for her tailoring business to have room to grow and flourish!

 

{Mary left, mother, daughter, and Ufulu Group’s Manager-Olipa}