Over 25 vulnerable women, mostly petty traders, have received N30,000 as non-interest soft loans each in Benue State.
The interest-free loans were given by the founder of the Fansie Hope and Heritage Foundation, Dr Ngozi Egbuchulam.
In an interaction with the founder during the disbursement of the loan in Makurdi, the state capital, she explained that the beneficiaries who are the poorest of the poor were carefully selected to benefit from the loan to enable them to step up their income.
According to her, the beneficiaries who are mostly vulnerable widows struggling to make ends meet in terms of school fees, feeding and accommodation were given the loan to sustain themselves and their families and pay back after one year.
“The beneficiaries of this loan are expect to return what they have received next year without interest, no collateral, after they might have made enough profits to enable them stand on their own like those in other states did to enable us give the same to other beneficiaries.
“I want to encourage you to imbibe the culture of savings so that by this time next year we will hear your testimonies and how you were able to multiply what was given to you and expand your business to enable the new beneficiaries to learn from you,” she said.
She warned against defaulting saying, “Your honesty to pay this loan given to you today without collateral will automatically prepare you for a higher loan next year. -I want to encourage you all to be focused and determine on what you are doing because for every success there is a story behind it, and all the successful men and women you see out there also started from somewhere, the bottom line is how you can become a successful business woman from this little beginning to cater for your family.”
Giving a rundown of what prompted her to start the loan project, Dr. Egbuchulam said she got the inspiration as a little girl growing up in her community in Imo State where a lot of women, including her mother have to struggle to make ends meet.
It was not easy for my mother with seven of us we have to struggle hard in virtually all aspects of life because my father had two wives with 13 children and at a point in time I was receiving support from kind-hearted individuals during my early education on my street and that shows me that it is good to be kind.
“As a child I had to involve myself in different petty trades just to support my mother and when I eventually got married, I decided to take it upon myself to help those in a similar situation. I have done this for 38 years now.”
“I started this in my community, and slowly and steadily it started spreading to other states, and now we are in Benue, making the 18th State to benefit from this yearly loan for vulnerable women without interest,” she said.
