How ADRA helped Celestine improve her business
Celestina Ernesto Oliveira is 41 years old, a mother of 9 children and a farmer.
Culturing agricultural products has only been enough to cover the family’s needs. Due to a lack of knowledge about running a self-business and too little start-up capital, Celestina has yet to have an opportunity to generate additional income for the family.
By participating in a project supported by ADRA Austria, she not only learned the basics of bookkeeping and cost accounting, but she was also able to learn more about how to run a business successfully. However, a decisive advantage for her is her participation in a savings group that she formed with women in the village.
After continuously saving with other women and building up capital, she could get a small loan of $ 46 herself. That was possible because her newfound knowledge enabled her to develop an effective business plan: she now produces a doughnut (fried sweet yeast pastry). She sells it in her small shop, where she also sells other groceries. In this way, she can earn a regular income for her family.
“Today, I am a happy woman because I have learned much, thanks to the Kukwiza project. I learned new ways to run my business strategically and safely. My greatest happiness is being able to contribute to the household financing on an equal footing with my husband. I was able to give my husband a present for his birthday for the first time: underwear – that made him very happy. The family is the centre of happiness – I also learned that in a special gender course. Thank you for these opportunities,” Celestina happily reports.
With the income, Celestina can not only provide financial security for her family. She can now pay for the children’s clothes and school fees with her husband. They invest in their children’s future. In addition, they are already beginning to diversify their business and raise small animals.
Their village is far from any infrastructure, such as electricity or water lines. They are considering investing in a small photovoltaic system for power supply and a refrigerator to expand their small business: selling fresh fish.
As part of ADRA Austria’s 1+1 Christmas donation campaign, donators support this necessary help in Mozambique, which has brought about such remarkable changes in the lives of families in the first year and a half. With your help, they will include more families in the relief activities and continue to support women like Celestina in overcoming their families’ hunger and abject poverty.
