SUCCESS STORY

SELLING POINT AN INSPIRATION OF JOINING OFF FARM ACTIVITIES.

NYIRABASHYITSI Helena is women small hold farm of 50 years old, a member of Duhagurukirumurimo women group, she is a parent of 3 children, two boys and one girl, the first born of 25years old, second 23 years old and the last born of 21 years old, she is a window lives in Mudende cell, Shingiro Sector.
NYIRABASHYITSI Helena told us “within the training gained from POWER project and working in woman group was the key point of changing my life condition, before join other women and working into group my life was not easy, because i was widow with three children to take care of them, I suffered more with my three children where it asked me to work hard for finding school fees for them ,to feed them and to fulfill all other household responsibilities, I was hopeless of happiness and living in good conditions, during that time my life was sacrificed for cultivation activities and other unpaid care work ,was not easy for me to find the space for doing other thing.
After that period in our village we started to create groups and I joined a women group where we do saving activity and agriculture, in that time Actionaid and FVA join us and we started to work together where we benefited from different trainings organized by POWER Project include in CRSA, cooperative management, income generating activities, unpaid care work reduction, group savings and entrepreneurship.
Within the training gained I was aware of income generating activities from entrepreneurship and unpaid care work negative impact on economic development of family, at that time i decided to work hard for participating in income generating activities, where I decided to participate in a small business of selling agro products like maize, beans and wheat that time I was motived by the construction of selling point constructed in our sector by POWER project, and I said this is a good opportunity for me to benefit it.
So today I sell agro product twice a week in that selling point where I can use four hours per day, the average income I got per month is ten thousands Rwandan franc, which can be more depending on how the season is, the benefit I get from that small business help me to increase saving shares in our group saving scheme and I plan in the coming days that savings will help me to invest more in my business and this give me hope that I will not be a burden to my children.
I thank AAR and FVA for the support of this selling point construction, was a good motivation for starting small business, not only for me ,even other more women was joined which is a good thing of increase women self-esteem, slow by slow we will achieve more, THANKS.”