“Since I lost my husband, life had become difficult…in order to survive, I had to send my children to be cared for by members of my family, to allow me a chance to earn a living. I signed myself up for some field days, for which I earned just a small bit of fufu.

I never could have imagined it would be possible for a widow like me to make savings in order to improve conditions in my household. When we were told about the SILC methodology, I didn’t immediately believe that it would chanage anything. We began saving. I decided to ask for a loan of 30,000 CDF [about $32] and it was granted to me. One morning, I went to some neighboring villages with my eldest daughter and my son to buy two and a half bags of cassava for 27,000 CDF, which we then sold for 45,000 CDF. I did this four times, after which I had my own capital and I was able to reimburse the amount borrowed from the SILC group.

Since then, I’ve taken back my two children. Today they are in school. Thanks also to my savings, I was able to buy a goat, which in the next two months will give birth, God willing… I thank the TFV, which through CRS and CARITAS allowed us to benefit from this project.