Your generous support is empowering small businesswomen, like Olivette, in Sierra Leone with interest-free microfinance loans. Olivette tells us in her own words how much the support she’s received has meant to her and her family and how it changed her story.

In the video she says-

My name is Olivette. I am a beneficiary of the microfinance program of Develop Africa, and I also have two children with the sponsorship program and they are Timothy and Hazel. Timothy, he is presently doing a diploma program in college and Hazel has just completed the high school program. They both got into the program from primary school or what we call the junior school and they went through until they completed their secondary or high school education. Develop Africa has been of tremendous help to my family. They came in at a time when I had nowhere to turn to. Things we are very very difficult for me, I was a single parent and the father had just left, I had four kids to care for all alone, I was not working there was nothing going for me and so I was put on the micro-finance program and the essence of the microfinance program was to engage in some business that'll provide food for the family food and lunch for the children to ensure their continuity in school so that food and funds will not be a determent for their continuity in school. The program also provided finances for us every school year enough finances of fees that will see them through we were also given school materials like books, pens pencils, erasers, markers and various other items like solar light, bags and several other things. we also got mosquito net for them to use at nights and there were other provisions like the computer class they were able to attend computer school they were able to learn computer which is really what is needed today in today's world, And so they benefited a lot. Meanwhile, the microcredit helped me do some business, a buying and selling business, which I was able to do and then get funds, out of it I was able to give them lunch and provide feeding for them on a daily basis. Like I said, I had no job at hand and so this was basically what I was doing to get the family up and about. I'm very grateful to Develop Africa. I thank you very much for all the support you have given me. I praise God, I am grateful to God, I ask that God will bless you abundantly. I Want to thank all the sponsors all those who have put their resources together to ensure that our children and we ourselves able to benefit from this program. I ask that God will bless you, I ask that God will prosper you and I pray that God will provide in abundantly for you so that you continue to make put a smile on the faces of families because in essence what you have done is to transform our lives to change our story, to give us a brighter destiny. So thank you very much. May God bless Develop Africa May God bless the sponsors, may God bless our directors and all those who are helping and I want to say to those of you who are not sure whether you want to sponsor you would not understand, you will be changing the lives of many kids. You will be changing the story of many kids would have otherwise been dropped out. So do not vacillate, do not sit on the fence, please come on board and help the kids. May God bless you abundantly, may God continue to provide for you. I want you to know that my story is very much different from what it would have been, I thank you very much. God bless you!

You are helping individuals like Olivette become self-sufficient and provide a better life for their families.   We encourage you to consider starting a monthly recurring donation here. Even a few dollars a month will go a long way to give individuals a hand up in their businesses. Please also share this with your contacts and invite them to consider supporting this ongoing project.