Before Yirgalem was granted the loan, she used to sell vegetables on a piece of land out on the field inside the market. She supported her family from a meager income she got every single day.   Then the government built so many mini-shops and distributed them among the sellers who didn’t have a shop to sell their own goods. As a result, Yirgalem was given a shop in her name with a monthly fee of 333 Birr ($17.00 USD).   However, the real problem was that she didn’t have any money whatsoever to advance her business with in her newly given shop. She thought selling vegetables in her new and big shop compared to the previous small piece of land, was not worth the monthly fee. On one hand, she didn’t have any money to advance her business. On the other, she didn’t want to lose such a great opportunity of having a shop in the market by itself. Therefore, she simply kept paying 333 Birr monthly fee for three solid years, even though the shop had been empty and locked for that much year.   Then, months ago great blessings knocked at her door; an important turning point in her life and in the lives of her own family members, if you will. She got loan from Engage Now Africa to start her business in a new, more organized and advanced way. Obviously, the loan helped her buy different kinds of goods in bulk and sells them in her shop. She became free from her worries and her big problem had been taken care of because of this loan. Her business started growing and flowing freely by itself.  
 
  The loan has changed her life and the lives of her family member in such a way that, she sends all of her five children to good schools and she provides for everything that they need in order to improve the quality of their education to the next level. Her income has increased and became more stable since the opening of the shop. Her life has changed a great deal and she’s now a different person than what she used to be previously.   If it wasn’t for the loan and if the shop hadn’t been opened, she said: “My life and the lives of my family members wouldn’t have changed in such a way. The opening of the shop has changed our lives from nothing into something. I am so much grateful for Engage Now Africa for being the main and only reason for my big and important transition in my life.”   She is now a very happy and successful woman. She is enjoying life along with her family!!!   To learn more about Engage Now Africa’s micro-credit programs, please visit our website HERE!!!]]>