By Azhar Hameed | Volunteer President
Dear Donors,
Akhuwat USA tirelessly strives towards its mission of a poverty-free world by enabling those less-privileged with continued means of income generation that could provide for their well-being.
Relentless support from donors like you Akhuwat has so far provided 1873 interest-free loans to those less fortunate in Pakistan through our Global Giving project. Having a success rate of 99.4%, Akhuwat recycled 117 loans in 9 months. Recycled loans mean that 117 beneficiaries who took an interest-free loan from the funds generated through our Global Giving project were able to pay back their loans within 9 months which were then handed out to new beneficiaries, hence, starting a new cycle. We at Akhuwat, take pride in doing our part towards a prosperous society that includes people from all walks of lives and genders. As part of this project, Akhuwat USA has prioritized its focus on empowering financially frail women to enable them with the means that earns them a sustainable stream of income.
As part of this quarter’s report, Akhuwat USA is proud to publish the success story of Azra. An unmarried 62-year-old woman from Lahore known by the name of Azra Aapa (not her legal last name) was a senior-level manager of a now-closed BCCI bank based in London. At the peak of her career, she owned several high-end properties in London and Lahore, Pakistan worth millions of dollars. Azra has 9 post-graduate degrees in various fields such as accounting, finance, banking investments, and has successfully undertaken more than 700 short courses from all over the world. She worked with BCCI for over 25 years before she decided to move to Pakistan when her bank decided to close its doors for business. Upon her arrival in Pakistan, she opened a boutique in Lahore and made several other investments.
In her new journey of entrepreneurship and investments, she became a victim of a series of frauds by her friends and family. Azra was deprived of all her wealth and became homeless. She had no other means but to live with all of her belongings in a small badly damaged car by the road. Akhuwat learned about Azra Apa and decided to approach her to find a solution that could help her rebuild her life. Our volunteers worked relentlessly with Azra for emotional support to help her start a new phase of her life. Azra was given an interest-free loan of $500 that could help her in her new endeavor. One of Akhuwats employee volunteered to become a guarantor for the loan she was provided.
Azra rented a house and started a home-based tuition business. Akhuwat volunteers helped spread the word in their circle about Azra’s new business. Within the first 10 days of her launching home-based coaching services, 7 under-graduate and post-graduate students from several universities signed up for her coaching. Azra's’ interest-free loan tenure was 12 months but having several students signed up for her classes so early in her new business she was able to return her loan amount within one month, one of its kind success stories in the journey of Akhuwat. It’s been a little over two months that Azra started her home-based tuition services and more than 20 students have signed up for her classes. Seeing an overwhelming response, Azra has hired the services of three university teachers to help her cope with high levels of students signing up. She now runs two coaching sessions to accommodate a large number of students. Akhuwat USA is planning to make a documentary on the success story of Azra with the help of an international media conglomerate.
Beneficiaries of Akhuwats’ entrepreneurship based interest-free microloan like Azra, financial independence would have remained a constant struggle if were not for avid donors like you. Since 18 years of our work in Pakistan and changing one life at a time, Akhuwat is proud to have transformed the lives of more than 3.4 million people in Pakistan with a total loan portfolio now amounting to more than $600 Million. Although we take pride in our achievements, there are still many who await our help in lifting them from a life of financial exclusion to a life of well-being. Your kind donation, as little as it may be can be a beacon of hope for those less fortunate.
Donate generously!
Together we strive for a poverty-free society built on the principles of Compassion and Equality.
Kind Regards,
Azhar Hameed
Volunteer President
Akhuwat USA
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
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