Pramila Masih

Pramila Masih lives in the city of Haldwani in northeast India. She  is the mother of three, one of which was born physically disabled and  requires expensive medical care and daily treatment. Her life  drastically changed after her husband was diagnosed with a terminal  disease and died leaving Pramila and her young children alone with no  means of support.

For a number of years Pramila struggled to provide food and shelter for her family. However in 2010 she heard about Empowered Poor’s micro lending project and contacted an Empowered Poor Representative in  her area. She was desperate to provide for both her children’s basic  needs along with the hope of educating them. She discussed her desire to  open a small grocery store with the EP representative and was given  $10,000Rs ($225) to launch her dream.

Pramila invested the loan money to rent a small shop space and  purchase basic items to sell to the community. Both she and her children  worked hard and little by little her small business began to expand.  She was able to save money as her shop became one of the main suppliers for the community.

Today Pramila is a well know business woman in her community. She is  able to provide for all of her family’s needs and has the joy of giving  her children the education needed to break the cycle of poverty that had  almost destroyed their lives.