Journal: Harriet

When Harriet received her loan, she used it to fund two businesses: stone quarrying and buying and selling tomatoes.

Harriet has had trouble in the past few months and is still working to pay off the last 25,000 shillings (about $15) of her loan to Life in Africa. She had a baby in November and needed an operation. In addition, her husband wanted her to give him the money and when she refused, he left the family seven months ago and gives them no support. Harriet and her three children needed to move into a new place with two rooms that costs 40,000 shillings a month.

After the operation, Harriet was not able to work in the quarry or take care of her business as she wanted. The business was OK, but she had to hire someone else to take care of it for her who did not bring Harriet the money as he was supposed to. There is not enough money to send her older children to school; they just stay at home.

She is feeling better now and would like to pay off the last of her loan so she can borrow more money. With a new loan, she wants to start selling charcoal and open up a small restaurant that would serve traditional African dishes: potatoes and mean, beans, and cassava.