Meseret: A Step in the Right Direction

22-year-old Meseret Worku lives in Hawassa, Ethiopia. Before joining a women’s group managed by Heartland Alliance, Meseret was selling salt and spices at the local market. Because she was poor, she was only able to buy 50 kilos of merchandise to put on the market; the money she made wasn’t enough to make basic ends meet. In addition, Meseret was also struggling to support her orphaned brothers and sisters.

As a member of the group, Meseret was able to complete personal finance and business management training. The program allowed her to take out loans funded by the group so that she could increase her selling power. Meseret was not only able to save money, she was able to open a separate savings account. Today, she is able to support her family and plans to eventually open her own store.

Helen: A Brighter Future

Growing up alone on the streets of Hawasaa, Ethiopia—a nation with one of the largest populations of orphans in the world—Helen Abera, like others who have lost their parents to AIDS, spent her days scavenging for food and other necessities, rather than going to school. By age 20, believing she had run out of options, she turned to prostitution to earn a living. “It was the hardest part of my life,” she recalls. “I did not have another choice, because I had to eat. My friend advised me to go to hotels… After some time, I became addicted to alcohol and khat (an amphetamine-like stimulant). Every night was full of challenges. Some clients didn’t pay me, some hurt me, others refused to use a condom.”

Thanks to DGP grantee, Heartland Alliance, and its local Ethiopian partner Bright Image for Generation Association (BIGA), Helen has turned her life around. Founded in 2005, BIGA provides economic opportunities, education and psychosocial support services to vulnerable women and children enabling them to build the skills and gain the tools needed to improve their well-being.

After attending a BIGA informational session, Helen and 19 other impoverished women in a similar situation formed a self-help group. Together, these women pool their resources plus seed money provided by BIGA, to fund one another to start small businesses. The loans, along with literacy, personal finance and technical skills training from BIGA’s staff, help the women to gain control of their lives.

With USAID funding, BIGA is in the process of establishing 120 self-help groups to reach more than 1,800 women like Helen. BIGA is also expanding and strengthening its psychosocial support services. And with technical assistance from the Capable Partners Program, BIGA’s financial, human resources, and other management systems are functioning more efficiently, enabling the organization to expand its reach and impact.

Today, rather than spending her nights cruising hotels, Helen wakes up early each morning to prepare snacks and hot drinks to sell at a local market where she earns more than enough to meet her basic needs. Just as important, her business has given her something she’s never had before; as she puts it, “Now I have a choice.”