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PO Box A524
Sydney South NSW 1235, Level 11, 227 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone: 1800 812 164

© 2024 Opportunity International AustraliaABN 83 003 805 043

Something Bigger

By Opportunity International Australia

A piglet, a handloom and a cooking stall might not look like they have much in common, but thanks to the hard work and determination of families in need, they’re all items that can pave a pathway out of poverty…

A piglet…
Living in the slums of Delhi, India, Sunita struggled to provide for her children. Desperate for a chance to give her children a better start in life she engaged in a business deal that went horribly wrong, leaving her with nothing. Determined to be brave and not give up, Sunita rose to the challenge and took out a small loan of Rs.7,000 (A$129) and used it to purchase piglets, breeding them at a farm nearby…

A handloom…
Mariana used to sell vegetables at her local market in Indonesia, earning just Rp.15,000 (A$2) a day. After having her daughter Verlia, she knew she could no longer travel the long distance to the market with her baby in tow, but her husband’s income as a bricklayer was not enough to support the family. To help provide for her family, Mariana decided to start a weaving business, one she could do at home. But with limited capital, she could only afford to produce three sheets of cloth a day and despite her hard work, the family still lived in poverty. Determined to improve her business, Mariana took out a small loan of Rp.750,000 (A$100) to invest in a handloom and thread...

A cooking stall…
In the Philippines, Luisa and her husband Hilario struggled to afford their daughters’ education. Hilario’s employment as a jeepney driver was unreliable and the income from Luisa’s small store was not enough to provide even the basics. “We had a really hard time,” she says. Desperate to give her children the opportunity to do whatever they wanted in life, she took out a loan of Php.5,000 (A$127) to buy a cooking stall…

Today Luisa’s barbeque sticks are a big seller in her village and with a daily income of around Php.428 (A$11), she has been able the send her girls to high school and even college. Likewise, business has been blooming for Sunita and today her farm has more than 60 pigs. The income she has made from her business has meant she has been able to provide proper meals for her family, and even send her children to school. This young mother no longer needs small loans anymore having started a second business – a market stall – and is even employing others in her community, providing an income for them, too. Mariana also earns enough to employ a fellow villager and together they produce six to seven sheets of cloth each day, which are sold in art shops and local villages. Mariana now earns about Rp. 80,000 (A$11) a day meaning she can afford to buy milk and clothes for her children and provide them with opportunities she never thought possible.

A piglet, a handloom and a cooking stall – all items that mothers like Mariana, Sunita and Luisa would tell you were enough to change their families’ lives. And each item can be found in our Something Bigger gift catalogue – this Christmas, help a family like Mariana’s, Sunita’s or Luisa’s transform their futures.

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