Tady Barethe lives in Bamako, Mali. She is 62, a widow and has six children. Before Islamic Relief’s loan she used to trade in small items like toothbrushes and cheap perfumes. She did this to feed her family.
“As a widowed woman in charge of orphaned children, Islamic Relief came to my assistance with their microfinance project. The aim was to help widows generate incomes that allows them support their families and not rely on charitable donations alone.
“Together with the other widows in my group, we were able to get a loan and start a collective business. We sold peanut butter and were able to make 1,000,000 XOF (approx. $1,700) in profit and repay Islamic Relief’s loan to our group. This success enabled us to give out individual loans so the widows in our group could have their own individual commercial activities.
“Since this project began I have been able to take five loans to gradually boost my small trade. I have been able to generate some profit and I was able to fully repay all the money I borrowed. This was made possible due the project’s constant support and training in how to create and implement business plans. Over the period of one year our group was able borrow and repay 2,000,000 XOF (approx. $3,400).