‘Let’s lift each other up’
Poverty can be a lonely place, as Emerance knows all too well. A serious illness left her unable to do the farming work on which so many people in Rwanda depend. ‘My shoulder muscles were destroyed,’ she tells us. ‘My neck and the area surrounding the spine are all weak… I can barely do anything.’
Unable to provide for her family, she felt lonely and trapped in her poverty. But then she discovered a lifeline.
Emerance joined a self-help group for people living with disabilities called ‘Let’s lift each other up’. These groups empower people to overcome their challenges together.
The group saved together to buy a knitting machine, as well as pay for someone to teach them how to use it. Now, they are able to make and sell clothes for a profit – giving Emerance a life-changing source of income. She was able to buy a cow, something she couldn’t have dreamed of before, giving her a valuable source of milk.
Her story is inspiring. Yet so many more people around the world are where she used to be – trapped in poverty. You can empower them to lift themselves out.
