"My name is Mildred Hamane and I’m a 47-year-old single mother of five. I belong to the Chitukuko women's credit group in Shikoswe, Kafue, Zambia. I’m the treasurer of the group. 'Chitukuko' means development. I started school at the age of 6 and left school due to lack of money and sponsorship. I got married at the age of 20 and had my first child that same year. My husband and I are now divorced. After the divorce my children and I moved in with my mother. I live in a 3-bedroom family house with my mother and four other relatives. Together we are 11 at home. They all depend on me and my business.
I make 'vitumbuwa' (Zambian fritters) at the Shikoswe market. I’m at the market at 6:30 in the morning, working hard. I have been in this fritter business for 15 years. I got my first loan from the Microloan Foundation in 2015, and I’m now in cycle 4. I started with a loan of 700 kwacha (about £57). I was supposed to get a 2,500 kwacha loan (about £204) but decided to get 1,000 kwacha (about £82), as business is slow at the moment.
Microloan Foundation has improved my life in a positive way. Through the profit made, I was able to buy the space where I sell from and pay 800 kwacha (about £65) school fees for my child earlier this year. The most important training I have learnt from Microloan Foundation is on business planning and savings. I have opened my own savings account separate from the group savings account."