Tag: Business in a Box

…how you make a living! And that’s not easy! Most ultrapoor families struggle with even keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads. Things like buying medicine, sending children to school and paying for electricity are difficult, if not impossible. In Transform’s Livelihood lessons, trainers teach the participants how to bring in...

Ana’s life began to crumble after her husband’s death. While she was coping with his loss, she was also struggling to support her children and extended family. Her daughter was unable to finish college, and dropped out when she became pregnant. Ana had no choice but to step in and share the burden of raising the new family as...

In 2016, we celebrated the graduation of our 750,000th Transform family member. Her name is Mary Sunshine and her story is told in this video: Mary Sunshine and her family live in ultrapoverty. Mary Sunshine’s husband, Ryan, earns about US$34.88 (PHP 1,500) per week working with tires, not nearly enough to look after the small family’s financial needs....

Life was chaotic for Meraluna. Pregnant, with four children, a husband, sister and nephew to support, the tiny weekly income (US$3/PHP150) she earned washing people’s clothes didn’t begin to cover the family’s expenses. Desperate, the overworked Meraluna did what most people in her community did in hopes of earning money – she placed bets on...

Amie wasn’t convinced that attending an ICM Transform program would benefit her. She expected the Transform program to be filled with a few ineffective lectures and a bit of cash distribution and to have no lasting worth.   After starting the Transform program, Amie’s early fears were proved wrong and she realized her perspective and attitude...

After leaving her abusive ex-husband, Ellen thought she’d have to raise her two young daughters alone. The future looked gloomy and hopeless. The reality of poverty is haunting. Although no longer living with her ex-husband, she still harbored an intense grudge against him. It seemed almost unimaginable to her that she would ever be able to...

My name is Yuxuan Su and I recently intern at ICM for around two months. Over this period of time, I have had the privilege of working alongside some of the most dedicated, motivated and fun people I have ever met. One morning, I set out with a group of ICM trainers in our signature blue...

Jobert was mishandled as a newborn by an inexperienced doctor, breaking his hipbone, leaving him unable to walk for the rest of life. In the past, Jobert has been very pessimistic about living with a disability, looking only at the negative impact it had on his life. It was only during the Transform program that Jobert began...

Merlyn joined ICM’s Transform program with the full support of her family, particularly her husband, Joel. The couple decided they would divide the household chores between them and he would care for their three children when Merlyn was attending Transform classes. Merlyn worked hard to complete her domestic tasks in the morning so that she...

The focus of 2016’s World Health Day is diabetes, which affects around nine in every 100 adults worldwide. Diabetes can cause damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves. However, diabetes and its complications can often be prevented by a healthy diet, regular physical activity and the avoidance of tobacco. According to the World Health Organization,...