Life Changed, Changing Lives

Our Correspondent Report

 Mastuj Jan 20: The First MicroFinanceBank Ltd. has delivered another successful performance at the annual Micro-entrepreneurship awards ceremony hosted by Citigroup and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF). This is the third-year running that a client has been honoured with a prize from Mastuj Branch.

 This year�s winner was Mrs. Asman Dawood, who picked up Rs. 50,000 for her potato-farming efforts in Chinar. She might be well-known by some of you who have heard her speak as a role-model in forums organized by Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) at PTDC Motel Mastuj.

 After she was selected as one of 16 finalists from across Pakistan (out of a whopping 400 applications), she was flown down to Islamabad for an interview. The Islamabad Mariott would host the judges and participants, and the finalists were asked many questions about their life, business, past experience, future plans, and other items of that nature. Each finalist would spend some time with the judges.

 Decisions were made that very night, and the finalists would be rewarded with a respective award the following day. At a ceremony inside the NIC building in Islamabad, after a speech from the CEO�s of Citibank and PPAF respectively, the participants gracefully climbed the steps onto the stage with their officers. From the seats, the audience could see a smiling Mrs. Asman Dawood casually accept her much-deserved award. Encased in a blue velvet-covered box, there was a glass memento of her hard work and achievement, the prize she received.

 It is wonderful to see the progress that people from our own region have made with the help of small loans. Inshallah, the continued work of microfinance institutions such as The First MicroFinanceBank Ltd., greater prosperity will be available to all individuals across the region.

The First MicroFinanceBank Ltd is the only Organization received biggest in number, six Micro-entrepreneurship awards during the year 2004, 2005 & 2006. Mastuj is the branch which gets four out of six. I would like to share the name of the recipients of the previous GMA award holders and also the story of Mrs. Dawood

 Ms. Shahira       Village Hazratabad, Mastuj
Mr. Hazir Khan the owner of Shandur Hotel of Laspur
Mr. Zar Murad Village Unawich, Yarkhoon
Mrs. Asman Dawood Village Chinar, Mastuj

Mr. Zar Murad receiving GMA award from Ex-Governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr. Ishrat Hussain

Story of Mrs. Dawood

Mrs. Asman Dawood was born in Chinar, one of the remotest parts of Chitral. She was very young when her father died. At the age of only 12, she got married to her cousin. This did not make the situation much easier, because even her cousin�s parents had passed away. She and her husband had no real help from any elders, and had to carve out a living for themselves. Regardless of the challenges they faced, Asman managed to become a mother to 4 beautiful children. However, tragedy would strike 2 of them at childbirth, adding to the burdens that she had faced in her life.

Her husband was not very financially privileged either; he was a daily wager and did odd jobs to find enough money to feed his family and his children. He was, however, fortunate enough to own a small plot of land, but it was insufficient to grow an adequate amount of food. Being orphans, without enough food and money, their two remaining children passed away, leaving them in a very pitiful state.

 Residence of Mrs. Asman Dawood in time of poverty

Through all their misery, God was kind enough to provide them the blessings of 4 more children, 3 boys and 1 girl. Having these children made them very happy, but they now had the fear that they would not be able to meet the educational needs of their children, or find the money to feed them so that they would be able to grow up strong, let alone survive.

To make sure that they would have enough, Mrs. Dawood was raising chickens and growing vegetables in a small scale, while her husband continued finding work where he could. Their condition did not improve much though; on Eid occasions she still would not have enough money to buy her children a new set of clothes. The clothes they would receive were second-hand given by the generosity of others.

 There was not enough money for new clothes and adequate food

 Then, in a fortunate meeting, amidst storms brewing in the sky above, the local First MicroFinanceBank (FMFB) branch manager in Mastuj saw an opportunity to improve her livelihood. He was adamant in convincing her to give potato farming a chance, as the bank saw a very high potential return for it. At first, Mrs. Dawood was too fearful to take on the new risk or the challenge of a new crop. With a little extra convincing, however, she took a Rs. 3000 loan and worked hard to bring about success.

 When in 6 months time the new crop was almost ready to be harvested, a beautiful sunny day brought about two strangers from a distant part of Pakistan. As they realized it would only be another 10 � 15 days before the crop was ready to be picked, they made an offer to Mrs. Dawood, saying that they would like to buy the entire harvest for Rs 25,000. She was shocked and thought they were just joking, Rs 25,000! It was unbelievable! She could not have heard correctly; after all, her Urdu was not perfect and she thought that they should speak with her husband.

 Everyone sat down together in the field, and over a cup of tea, the welcome strangers reasserted that they were willing to purchase the entire harvest for Rs. 25,000 and they would bear the associated risks. They would also come and pick it up themselves, handling all the arrangements when the crop was ready. The cash changed hands at that very meeting, Mrs. Dawood was wealthier than she had ever imagined she would be, and rushed into the bank the following morning to tell her wonderful story!

 The days since this miraculous event happened in Mrs. Dawood�s life have been filled with prosperity and happiness. She can now provide education for her children, who will be able to access a brighter future for themselves. Their living conditions have improved significantly, with the inclusion of proper sanitation facilities such as a toilet, and the execution of many necessary repairs. Her sense of generosity has not diminished, and the upgrade further included the construction of a new and separate house for guests to stay in. Inside her own main house though, one can now find new utensils and many value-added objects or machines, such as brush carders and a butter churner.

 The house is repaired, furnished, and filled with new utensils and objects

Mrs. Dawood�s farm, the source of her income, has not been forgotten either. In fact, it has prospered as never before. Whereas her farming used to be done in a small-scale, it is now done in a large-scale using her own seeds and her last loan of Rs. 6000 was solely for fertilizer. Even this will be eliminated in the future, however, as she is planning to begin organic farming which uses only organic manure from local livestock. To do this, she would have to maintain a few cows, goat and sheep, but she has already purchased 14 livestock for the farm. And while potato, the crop that changed her life, continues to be the most profitable, she has not abandoned the other vegetables. By growing other crops such as tomato, wheat and maize, she can not only feed herself from the products of her own farm, but also maintain the biological diversity existing in her local environment. While the benefits for her customers will continue to accrue in terms of their health and nutrition, her efforts have also proved beneficial to other members of her village economically, as her once solely farmed land now provides seasonal employment for 5 or 6 individuals who are hired to do the harvesting.

 Mrs. Dawood is much happier and more confident of her family�s future as her children are going to school and obtaining an education

It has been a tremendous change for her, especially in terms of her personal development. There was a time in her life when she was too poor to even qualify for membership in a Women�s Organization at the village level. Today, she is an employer who is giving talks to other women in her community. The Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) had invited her to Chitral town, which she was seeing for the very first time, in order to participate the enterprise development workshop. The hope is that, with more people gaining the knowledge and strength to find the success that Mrs. Dawood has found in her life, the economic state and livelihoods of the people in Pakistan�s rural villages will discover an equal or greater measure of change in their own well-being. Individual by individual, these areas of Pakistan can be changed from a state of destitute poverty to one of unbridled hope-filled prosperity. Women like Mrs. Dawood, who have seen both sides of the coin, now have the potential to lead such a necessary change.