Tag: livelihood

Known as the Pearl of Africa, Uganda is a land filled with stunning landscape, rich biodiversity, and serene beauty. However, despite the country’s vast natural wealth, more than half of  Ugandan households still experience poverty in the areas of finances, healthcare, and education. Ugandan women, in particular, experience the harsh effects of being ultra-poor. They...

What do you do when the pandemic has wiped out your livelihood and you don’t know where your next meal is coming from? For Robina from Aklan, it is to keep on going and even find more ways to serve other people in these tough times. When tough times get tougher Even before the pandemic,...

Here in ICM, we have found that one of the best ways to promote economic growth among the poor is to empower women for greater productivity. In fact, 88% of our Transform participants are women. So it’s no coincidence that most of the stories that we have featured in our newsletters and social media are...

“Every day is not a harvest day. Where could I get financial help to meet our daily needs?” This is a question that Criselda asked when she looked at her family and the growing needs. The weight of her family fell upon her shoulders when her husband suddenly passed away from heatstroke during a harvest...

…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...

Widowed and living with her two children and three grandchildren, Dolores had every excuse to lose hope. Only she and her son had jobs, and even with their combined income, they only had PHP19 (USD 0.40) a day per person to cover their daily expenses. But instead of faltering, she persevered and now her story...

Although Rhona’s savings group in Bacolod has only been running for two years, it has become hugely successful. The group, established during Transform, began by selling detergent powder and dishwashing liquid and then later transitioned into selling rice and fertilizer. Extending loans to its members is one of the group’s main functions, vital in a...

Tragedy seemed to follow Cristita. Four years ago, her husband died from kidney and liver problems. Her 30-year-old son, traumatized by troubles in life, could no longer work or even walk, sitting at home and rarely speaking. With her 26-year-old daughter unemployed, the burden of caring for her two children and one grandson fell on...

Life for elderly couple, Rosalina and her husband was tough with a weekly income of just US$15 (PHP700) from selling goods in a small sari-sari store. Due to their physical health deteriorating, Rosalina and her husband, both aged 67, were unable to do jobs involving heavy lifting. When Rosalina was invited to join ICM’s Transform...

The idea of gardening is appealing to many. What’s not to love about saving money while growing your own food? Eating healthy is effortless when you have grown juicy tomatoes and leafy lettuce yourself. While gardening sounds tempting, not everyone has the luxury of enough land to start their own vegetable plot. Many of our...