Stories

Mahani - Chook farmer................................................


Mahani lives in a rural area in the subdistrict of Galela, on the island of Halmahera. She is 34 years old. Her husband grows coconuts, nutmeg, bananas, as well as breeding chickens. Mahani has three children, the eldest in Junior High, the second at primary school, and the youngest is 5 years old. Because of their small income the family lives a very simple life.


They began chicken farming in 2006 with capital of approx Rp.1,000,000 (A$120) and started buying chickens 2 to 3 months old from surrounding farms. With hard work, their business began to grow.
Joining the ‘Teratai’ loan group
When we asked Mahani about her involvement in the Bridge of Hope loan group, she spoke with enthusiasm and at length of the positive effect it has had on her, her family, and their business. Some of the benefits Mahani highlighted are: 


Increase in Capital

As Mahani had only a little capital to start with, she could only buy 15 chicks at rp 3000 (40 cents) each. Hearing about the BoH loan program, she took time to visit some of the weekly group meetings of a BoH program that had already started in the area. She decided to join the group and with the loan she received buy more chicks. She has now been able to raise large numbers of chicks to the ready to eat stage and sell them for over A$5 each. 
As well as chickens, she’s also been able to buy ducklings. They’ve also been able to buy better feed for the ducks and chickens. 


Increased variety of products to sell 
Through the hard work of her family, Mahani has now been able to expand their business to include making & selling ‘yellow rice’, fried banana, bread, doughnuts and ‘salak’ fruit. 

Buying equipment
Now she can buy an oven, stove and livestock food troughs. 
Her children’s education 
She also uses the profit for her children’s education - paying fees, buying books and other educational requirements. 

Other 

Mahani uses the profit to buy food, clothes and medicine. 
She also uses the profit for her children’s education - paying fees, buying books and other educational requirements. 


Relationships between religions
As the 'Teretai' loan group is made up of both Muslims and Christians, we asked Mahani about the relationship between the members of her group. She says it is going well. Since getting to know each other in the group, there’s no more suspecting each other, bearing malice or hatred. Nowadays they get together for social activities initiated by group. This is great news for Bridge of Hope. From 1999 to 2002 there was extensive and horrific fighting between Muslims & Christians in this area – particularly in the district Mahani lives.
Looking to the future
Mahani says "if possible I will continue with the BoH loan group because of the benefits I’ve felt and the improvements to my life. I will  continue with BoH even if this group disbands and form a new group or join a similar group nearby".

Nontje - Clay Brick Maker................................................






Nontje and Hais, are married and have two sons, Hendra (16) and Jerri (9). Hendra has been ill for the last two years with a lung disease. He used to help out with the family business and go to school, but is currently unable to do either. 
The family run a brick making business. They started the business a few years ago with a loan from a loan shark and leased the land on which they built their business. However the landlord requires 10% of their output as payment for the rent. Since starting the business the loan interest payments and rent agreement have entrapped them in a cycle of poverty, unable to break free from their situation.
 
The clay to make the bricks is dug by hand from the hillside behind the works. The clay is mixed with water, made more malleable by a man with his feet and then formed into bricks using a two brick mould. These fresh bricks are stored to dry in piles, then when they have dried sufficiently to be moved they are stacked in lines to allow further drying. The final stage is for them to be kilned, where some 5,000 bricks are stacked in a square and a fire is built inside to bake the bricks.
In dry weather Nontje, her family and contracted work force can produce 25,000 bricks in this way every three months. As a form of repayment to the loan shark their contract binds them to sell their bricks at a drastically reduced rate to the landlord, instead of to the market. This means they have to sell a large percentage of their bricks for Rph 150 or 2c, instead of Rph 250 or 3.5c! Out of this gross income Nontje pays Rph 60/brick to a labourer and it costs Rph 50/brick for materials and wood to fire the kiln.
In the past Nontje also borrowed money from the loan shark to pay wages because she had no cash flow! The families financial position was very precarious and really were being held captive in poverty by the loan shark generating an income of $50/month!
In January when we first visited Nontje, she had just joined a local loan group in her community of Paal IV run by Bridge of Hope. At the time we met her she was obviously depressed and seemed completely trapped by her circumstances. Nontje and her family used their first loan to improve their cash flow, pay wages and buy firewood, without having to borrow further from the loan shark. In the second loan cycle they have been able to start paying off the loan from the loan shark and reduce the interest payments. This has allowed their income to increase to $80/month. 



 
I am now much happier than before because of the support of the Bridge of Hope program said Nontje, smiling. She looks like a new woman compared with 6 months ago. Although we still need to repair the roof of the works and finish paying off our loan shark, I am sure we can be free from this situation, assuming our health holds out.



In the future Nontje's family hope to buy their own land and build their own brick making works.

Sotina - Caterer..............................................................






 
Sotina is a caterer who used to sell a simple mix of green beans with brown sugar to make a drink and soup. With this product she would nett Rph 15,000 (A$2) per day. Now on her second loan cycle Sotina is netting Rph 60,000 per day. She has converted her front room into a well stocked kitchen and is cooking rice, proper food, vegetables, fruits, and fresh fruit juices.
Sotina had to employ two others from the community to assist her. In an example of how Bridge of Hope is contributing to a micro economy within Pandu, Sotina no longer buys her produce from the markets but from neighbours who are growing the produce in their own vegetable gardens within Pandu.
Sotina not only supplies the Pandu community but her reputation as a caterer has spread outside and people beyond Pandu are placing large orders and coming to collect it from her. Her next expansion includes providing a place for people to sit down while they eat. It will be Pandu's first restaurant!

Seth - Pig Farmer..........................


Seth is a 56 years old man and has four children. He lives in a village called Molas, 7km north from the centre of Manado and is part of a local Bridge of Hope loan group which has eighteen members. His eldest daughter is married, one son works as a labourer at the port, one son works in a beverage factory and the third son is unemployed. All children finished schooling at the end of Junior High (14y.o) due to financial constraints in the family.





 
Seth supports his family through raising pigs and selling produce which he farms on a small piece of land that he inherited from his grandfather. In 1961 he was given a certificate of ownership for this property. 
Seth has used a portion of his loan to cement and secure his pig pens. This is important both from a health aspect of the community with other village pigs roaming freely and also 
for the health of the pigs themselves. Prior to Christmas he had 7 large and 7 small pigs. After Christmas he now has 2 large and 5 small pigs.
Seth dreams of being able to own a chicken and pig farm.
In future he would like to use a loan to buy fertilizer to increase the production capacity on his land. Clear the land, cultivate, plant corn and then three months to harvest.
The loan group's weekly meetings are held in a different member's home each week. Seth is the group leader. Members arriving late to meetings are fined 1000 rupees!
Seth reports that there is a good sense of community within the lending group and that the members pray every week for each of the families and for their businesses.