Microcredit Loans Help Bosnian Women

Women for Women International — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:26:58 GMT

Letter from Zainab Salbi, President and CEO of Women for Women International:

Zeynapa is a survivor of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995. Her husband was in a concentration camp for two years. By the time he was released, he was severely handicapped from the beating and torture he endured. The war left Zeynapa vulnerable. She lost her home, her stability and the health of her husband. Zeynapa told me about her teenage son and young daughter. She was an internally displaced person when we first met years earlier at the women’s center. “I was so eager to join Women for Women International when I first learned about the organization. I had nothing at the time. My family was sleeping on cardboard. But what worried me the most was my son. I did not want to fail him as a mother. I wanted to make sure that I provided him with a decent life. I was so afraid that he would be tempted to steal if I couldn’t give him the very basics. That was my nightmare. I didn’t want my son to be a thief. I wanted to be a good mother and to provide for my children a decent life.” With tears in her eyes, Zeynapa said, “Everything is okay now. Everything is okay.”

After graduating from Women for Women International’s sponsorship program, she secured a loan through our microcredit program. Zeynapa bought a cow with the first loan, then a second and a third, and when she had seven cows, she was able to sell them and buy a small home. She now runs a family business with her husband, who has since recovered from his injuries. She has been working with cows, sheep and chickens. Zeynapa taught me that we can talk about aid, charity and assistance as much as we want, but at the end of the day, women want the dignity to provide for themselves, to stand on their feet and to be good mothers that can provide a decent living for their children. I learned that our work is never complete if it does not include tangible opportunities to provide jobs for the women we work with. This is why business training and vocational skills training is seen as a crucial part of our work for the women we serve. The training is a major part of the one year program provided to each sponsored woman. We are also constantly exploring opportunities that can create more jobs and more income for the women we serve. For some, that means access to a microcredit loan to start a small business, for others it means being able to sell their products in a cooperative organized by the organization. For someone who has lost loved ones, a home and a support network during war, a drop of hope for a better future means the whole world to them. This is why Women for Women International believes that we must deliver on every word we promise to help move women from victims, to survivors, to active citizens. Anything less is cruel and unfair. It is necessary to address women’s economic needs in order for women to make this transition. This transition is not only for the welfare of the woman and her family, but for the ability to stabilize communities and countries, economically politically and socially. This is why we integrate rights awareness trainings with the vocational and business trainings. When women gain economic independence and access to resources, it is also crucially important to increase their negotiating power within the household and let them know that they have the right to make decisions that impact their families.

-- Zainab Salbi

Attachments:

GlobalGiving: Give Microcredit Loans to Women in Bosnia

Microcredit Loans Help Bosnian Women