Dadirai’s story

Dadirai was in an abusive relationship, and the actions of her husband created a stigma for her whole family. She had no friends or family to offer help when her marriage ended, and she had three young children to provide for.

 

Without this network of support, and in a very traditional and patriarchal society, life as a single mother is extremely challenging. Juggling childcare and household responsibilities whilst trying to earn an income was a daily struggle for Dadirai. For five long years, her family often went hungry and she had no choice but to pull her children out of school.

 

At the beginning of 2018 she joined a MicroLoan group of five women looking to build businesses. She took part in training about budgeting, business plans, savings and market research. The group learnt through song, dance and role play so that members who were unable to read or write were included. Dadirai then took a small loan to diversify the stock for her small store and to purchase more textiles.

When she spoke to our team most recently, her shop selling fabric and groceries was thriving. Her two youngest children were back in school and she had savings to fall back on if ever she needed healthcare or medicine. The family were eating three meals every day and had

Maria Campanini, MicroLoan Foundation Team

But one of the most heart-warming things Dadirai told our team – something that we can’t measure in our impact studies – was that the women in her loan group became her friends. She is part of a supportive and caring community. Come what may, through the trials and tribulations of running her own business, she is not alone.

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