DeeqaMursal Omar, a mother of 8 children, used her loan to build a successful business that sells clothes in Bakara Market in Mogadishu, Somalia, after getting a micro-entrepreneurship loan from KIMS Microfinance. Throughout her life, Deeqa has worked hard for her 8 children, together with her husband who could not afford to raise the children on his income alone.
Deeqa will never forget her past life of destitution. “My husband our 8 children and I were living with my mother I was unemployed – we had nothing.”
Deeqa knows it is not easy being a mother. Attempting to provide for her 8 children,Deeqa used what little money her family had to start a small clothing store. The store is packed with racks of children and women’s clothing, from t-shirts to jeans.
After a few years in business, Deeqa was introduced to KIMS Microfinance by one of her friends and promptly secured a micro-entrepreneurship loan. Her business has grown since then and made good progress. Deeqa worked hard to repay her loans on time so she could acquire subsequent and larger loans
Over time, Deeqa’s income grew enough to eventually renta separate house where she moved with her husband and 8 children. She still works hard to sell clothes and says that giving her children the opportunity to go to school is one of her greatest achievements.
“KIMS has lifted us from poverty – before, if we got one meal a day, we considered ourselves lucky, now we have 3 meals a day. My children’s education was very poor but now they are doing well, some are in secondary, others in primary. We are able to pay the school fee, rent, electricity and water.”
Today, Deeqa supports and hosts other women who are struggling to raise their families. In a reversal of fortunes, she is now a proud mother who supports her family’s economy and education.
“My situation has improved so much that I have hired my sister who is a single mother with four children to work with me, which she benefited from it”. Deeqa Mursal