 |
Iman, a widow from
Southern Egypt, proudly displays her wares. Iman defied village
mores to start a successful business, and her daughter now
has an education.
|
In
Iman’s village near Assuit in Southern Egypt, it is not considered
acceptable for a woman, let alone a widow, to start a public business.
But for Iman, depending on charity to support her family was not an
option.
Since
her husband’s death, Iman had struggled to provide the basic necessities
for her family.
She
rarely had money left for the books and uniforms that her daughter,
Mary, needed for school. When Mary enrolled in Coptic Orphans’ Not
Alone Program, Iman began participating in the trainings offered to
the mothers to provide them with the skills and resources they need
to become self-sufficient providers. Soon, she was ready to start
her own business.
Iman
set up a makeshift stand with crates for selling vegetables in front
of her house. One by one, Iman’s neighbors started to accept the situation.
Soon, she was earning enough income to support Mary’s education. But
it wasn’t long before Iman recognized another opportunity for growth.
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Iman
selling vegetables house to house with her wheelbarrow. |
Her
strategy involved a simple blue wheelbarrow that she purchased with
the support of Coptic Orphans. Now she doesn’t sit around waiting
for customers to come to her. Each day, Iman walks the small streets
and alleys of Manfalout, pushing a load of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers,
turnips, coriander and other vegetables. Her doorstep service gives
her a strong advantage in the local vegetable vending market.
Iman
is just one of many widowed mothers who refuse helpless dependency
on the Church or charity, but struggled in the face of illness, social
pressure, and poverty to make a better life for their children. For
example, further down the Nile, Coptic Orphans was able to help another
widow purchase a sewing machine so that she could make simple dresses
and other clothing items. A few months later, this remarkable woman
actually turned down financial assistance when her son became ill.
“I
already bought the medicine from my sewing money,” she told Coptic
Orphans. She continued to purchase her son’s medicine from income
that she made from her own work until her son recovered.
Iman
is also well on her way to self-sufficiency. She makes close to 100
Egyptian pounds a week from her wheelbarrow rounds: more than her
entire monthly government widow pension, and on par with what many
men in the village earn. What may not be as readily apparent is the
change that has slowly overcome the village since Iman first set up
her vegetable stand in public over a year ago. Other mothers in the
village are following her example, with more and more of them trying
their hand as breadwinners, selling things like appliances and clothes
from makeshift shops.
By
donating to Coptic Orphans, you enter into a partnership with thousands
of courageous widows like Iman, and their children.
The
Not Alone program supports children who have lost a father in part
by providing opportunities for self-sufficiency individually-tailored
by each child's Rep.
Your
resources + their resourcefulness = a better future for Egypt.
Help
mothers like Iman overcome dependency and become providers for their
family. Donate
Now or Sponsor a Child.
