Her first knowledge came when she heard of it on the radio, and later she was encouraged by NUEW members themselves. Then she knew she had one way out of her poverty. In 2001, Letay borrowed 3000 Nakfa and bought eight sheep. She has the sheep tripled now, and as they are in good health, Letay expects even more.

The money she gets by selling sheep will partly help her to pay her debt; she is also thinking of opening a small grocery. “I’m very optimistic and really hope to become a businessperson soon,” she said.

Another beneficiary of the NUEW income-generation project is Mrs. Birikti Habte of Mekerka in Zoba Maekel. It is for the second time that she got the loan. The money she borrowed on previous occasion was spent to open a shop in her village. The income from the shop has been promising, and as a result she is able to send her children to school.

The outcome from her first loan obtained from the NUEW encouraged Birikti to go for the next, after paying back her first debt, of course. In the second round, she managed to buy a TV set and a tape recorder. The TV in turn brings her income for the villagers, especially children, pay 0.50 cents to watch TV in her house. In such a village only few can afford to buy televisions.

Birikti hopes to pay back her loan on time. Asked how she used to lead her life before becoming the beneficiary of the NUEW project, she said: “After the death of my husband, I was working on our farmland. The job was tiresome for women like me. In addition, the outcome wasn’t satisfactory. When the NUEW loan scheme came, I decided to try it. That is how success has come.”

The purpose of the village-oriented loan programs of the NUEW is to enable needy women improve their life and become self-supporting. In the beginning, the program was initiated to support Eritrean refugees from the Sudan and the internally displaced women, who have no body to turn to.

The program started in Zoba Gash Barka in 1995, while in Zobas Anseba, Debub, and Maekel it was initiated in 1996/97. Regarding the procedure of the loan program, Ms. Mibrak Okbay, head of HRD and rehabilitation at NUEW Zoba Maekel, says: “Before giving loans, research is made about the place and capacity of the loaners. After that, the women eligible for taking loans are asked what they intend to do with the money. If the Union believes the activities would lead to obtaining reasonable amount of money, loan is given to the women.”

Later on, agreement is reached on when and how the borrowed money will be returned. For some women, basic training and advice is given on how they should invest and save the money, as well as how they pay back their debt on time.

Mibrak further explained that the time schedule to pay back the loans depends on the type of activities the women are engaged in. For instance, those who open shops are expected to start paying their debt in a month or so; those who keep sheep are expected to start paying when the sheep start breeding; and those who invest the money in agriculture start paying at harvest.

“They are not required to pay back the money before they get income from their investment,” she said. “And this really encourages many women to come to the NUEW for another loan request.”

Many of the customers of the NUEW income-generation program invest the money they borrow on breeding sheep, cattle, and chickens, as well as in opening shops, tea rooms, and suwa

From: http://www.shaebia.org/artman/publish/article_3235.html