1. Some people view girls and women with disabilities as having less value in the community.
2. Having a disability means girls are not as strong physically, so they can’t fight back.
3. Often, girls with a disability are financially dependent on others. Even as adults, they find it hard to get work. This disempowers them and can reduce their ability to influence decisions.

“My first husband got rid of me because
I was disabled with polio. He used to
beat me with a stick. He beat me once
when I was pregnant and my baby died.
He’dinsult me and say, ‘Go away, you
don’t even have a proper leg to walk.’
People didn’t understand me, so I
would cry.”

But now, thanks to a CBMI micro-finance
loan... “I have respect. My new husband
supports me. I am part of the decisions
in my home. Because of CBMI business
loans, women are accepted and have a
voice in the community.”

Such respect reduces the risk of abuse
for women in Haoua’s community. Better
still, financial independence means Haoua
can give her eight-year-old daughter,
Rakia, a better start in life, and help
protect her from a future of abuse.

“I wish to send Rakia to literary school
where I hope she will be a success.
I want her to be independent, and
take care of all her needs. Then
she will be respected.”Haoua’s
vision radiates to Rakia. “I want
to be a nurse, so I can help
those with disabilities.”

“One man in the village said that if he found me alone, he’d rape me. I was so afraid.”

But twice Faure couldn’t defend herself against her abusers. They made her pregnant, laughed at her and called her cursed, because childhood polio meant she couldn’t stand upright. She was forced to crawl on her hands and knees. “I’d hear people talk about me and it broke my heart. They said I was a reject. A disgrace.”

Today her lovely smile shows how CBMI has turned Faure’s life around with a simple business loan and training. “Now I can help myself. I can feed my children.” Faure is vice-president of her support group for people overcoming disabilities through enterprise. She knows God values her. So does her husband, her family and at last, her community.

CBMI community workers seek
out women who are rejected
and abused, like Haoua and
Faure, lending them money to
start their own small business
and setting up CBMI support
groups so the women can
empower and encourage each
other.

Haoua is President of the support
group, Hand to Hand. “We learn
from each other the principles
of business and how the economy
works,” she says of Hand to Hand.

“Every day I learn something.
I have become self-sufficient
and I rarely ask for handouts.
I am in a stronger position in the community. I have respect.”

Now, Hauoa wants to use her influence to help other women become independent and take control of their lives. “The other women here are learning from us. They see what they can do, what they can become.”