Before receiving his first micro-loan from Hope International, Musadidi, his wife and 6 children, lived in a small house in Lubumbashi . Musadidi sold pharmaceutical items and medicines in his neighborhood to provide for his family. He had so little capital that he would sell 2-3 items and then give his son $1-2 to run to a slightly larger store to buy more stock. His son made this run 5-6 times every day. At that point their family was only eating once a day and they could only afford to send their oldest daughter, Rachel, to school. The day Musadidi received his first HOPE loan for $55, he told HOPE staff: “With this loan, and help from HOPE, I am going to grow my business enough to build my family a new house.”
With a hand-up from HOPE International’s microloan program, Musadidi has built his small pharmacy into an important store in the neighborhood, selling medicines and small food items. Since he now buys his merchandise in bulk, he has increased his profit margin per item sold. With the increased capital Musadidi can now buy stock every three days and is selling a far larger quantity of items as well. Musadidi’s children are now all in school, and they eat 3 times a day. And, Musadidi is building a new home for his family that is 3-4 times the size of the old house!
Musadidi’s smile and his family’s pride in their new home is an amazing blessing.
