Women in Pakistan are gaining valuable skills, increased dignity and freedom and confidence in a society where traditionally they have been confined to their homes, isolated from each other and from the marketplace.

MEDA is helping women like Khanum Bibi (read her story below) obtain the opportunity they seek: to earn income, help support their families and gain respect and dignity. You have helped make this happen.

Through your generosity, we have raised more than $250,000 in our campaign to support MEDA's work in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of people like Khanum Bibi.

For 25 years, Khanum Bibi and her husband, Nisar, squeaked by on his income as a day laborer and her work making and embellishing ladies garments at home. With their meagre earnings, they raised a son and five daughters in a small village in Pakistan.

But hard times struck last year when Khanum became the sole bread winner after Nisar was injured in a street accident and could no longer work. "I have had a difficult life," Khanum said, wiping a tear with her headscarf. "But I feel a tremendous responsibility for my family since my husband's injury."

Fortunately, Khanum heard of a new MEDA project implemented through a partner organization, Kaarvan Crafts Foundation, which serves her community. Kaarvan trains women in product design and development, use of raw materials, market demand, and pricing arrangements. She now works outside the home as a sales agent with her neighbors, gathering and marketing the goods that they produce together, which enables her to negotiate better prices from market vendors.

"Becoming a sales agent has improved my living conditions, and also my confidence. Other women in my group also have experienced this. Now that I have this opportunity, I want to maximize it."

Khanum now has a voice in her household and her community, consulting with her husband on business decisions. "My husband didn't give me the right to work," Khanum said. "I earned it. Today we make joint decisions, and the people in our village understand. MEDA has given me new ideas and approaches I never would have considered."

The five-year Entrepreneur project is sponsored by USAID and supported by caring donors like you. It will increase incomes of 120,000 micro entrepreneurs like Khanum by developing the capabilities of MEDA's local partners. With this increased capacity, they can significantly scale up their operations, reaching more and more entrepreneurs and small enterprises.

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