Vibrant colours of material brighten the otherwise stone grey workshop of Riza Unto. She’s focused, sewing delicate stitches onto a surprising piece – a reusable sanitary napkin.

She’s been making the napkins for about a year now, selling packs of five for Php.139-169 ($4-5), depending on their size.

Like most successful entrepreneurs, Riza did thorough research before she committed to making this particular design, experimenting with many different samples.

With a small loan of Php.3,000 (A$87), Riza was able to buy material and rent a manually operated sewing machine so her productivity wouldn’t be hampered by the frequent power black outs where she lives – in Dumaguete City, Philippines.

When she has orders to fill, she works daily from 6am to 8pm. When she doesn’t have orders, she makes soap and bakes bread to keep income coming in.

Riza – pictured above with her grandson and youngest daughter Angelica – has big dreams for her business. She hopes to be able employee more of her neighbours so she can fulfil bulk orders, marketing the napkins in local schools so that girls won’t have to skip classes or drop out because of inadequate sanitation facilities.

Her dream is to sell her sanitary napkins “to the whole world!”

Since starting her business, Riza’s income has increased 25%, enabling her to provide for her family’s daily needs and keep Angelica in school. A small loan was a much needed hand up at a time when her husband’s eyesight had weakened, making him unable to work at the local barbershop as much.

One day, Riza plans to invest in her own sewing machine. She also wants to use the bags of offcuts to make pillows, so that she’s not wasting any of the material she’s purchased.

But for now, she’s very thankful for the loan that’s helped her provide for her family and empower women and girls in her community.

Read more stories of how your support has empowered over 2.8 million mothers like Riza with life-changing loans in the 2014 Annual Review.