Patience does not mean you confront hardships with zero actions; it is when you look forward trusting end results. Patience means you don’t overlook the thorn of the flower but deep inside you wait for the flower to flourish; you survive the whole night to see the dawn.
Amira is 42 years old widow with two kids, a young man and a daughter. She has been working in the field of clutch production 25 years ago, since then she met her late husband and they got married in 1995. When asked about her love story with her late husband she said that she is very grateful to him as he wanted badly to marry her.
Unfortunately, bad news ripped their dreams apart as her husband has been accused in drugs case and been imprisoned for 10 years; after he has been discharged from prison he has been diagnosed with lung cancer.
During this hard time, Amira did neither give up on her husband nor turned her back to her little family. Amira worked very hard to earn 20 EGP per week and when the financial commitments increased, she insisted on seeking more chances. Amira applied for a loan of 500 EGP from Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation in 2005; she bought more clutch material and taught her son the secrets of the industry. Amira’s ambitions were endless, her commitment to pay the loan installments on time helped her to increase the loan from Al Tadamun to 4,500 EGP. Amira was able to rent a workshop, increase the workshop manpower and expand her network consequently her profits increased from 20% to 30%.
Amira wishes to expand her workshop and increase the productivity from one model to multiple ones; she also dreams about owning a showroom for the clutches. She also wishes to see her young daughter as a Physician and to play with her grandchildren as her son is getting married this year.
Amira advises every woman passing through terrible financial circumstances to be patient; she also recommends being persistent and seeking opportunities to gain life experiences.
“A woman must be patient and works hard to make money from permissible sources”