Gladys Ruguru – Glory Self Help Group

Gladys Ruguru, age 56, is married to Milo Ishmeal, age 66. She is a mother to six children, with one child currently attending school. She lives in the village of Baraimo, which is only a few kilometers away from Village Hopecore International, in Chogoria, Kenya. In 2010, she joined the Glory Self-Help Group, which consists of 12 members all involved in microenterprise activities to improve their living standards. In the same year, she also received her first loan from Village Hopecore. Before receiving the loan, she and her husband were making around 3,600 KSH or 55 USD per month. She used loans to improve her existing tea and coffee farming. She bought a cow to produce manure and invested in fertilizer and seeds. Now, she has seen her income from farming increase by more than double. She was able to use profits from her business to begin other economic activities including rearing goats and rabbits and selling bananas, tree tomatoes, and macadamia nuts. Thanks to the loan and training, she says that she is now able to do more work, understand how to run a successful business, and invest wisely. She hopes to get a second loan from Village Hopecore sometime in 2012.