Changed Lives:
Pictures of Hope

Sonia's Story

Enhanced Business Skills Bring New Opportunities

Sonia Jose da Silva is a divorced single mother of two who owns a beauty parlor in Brazil. With little money to pay for supplies and no child support form her former husband, Sonia found it difficult to make ends meet.

World Vision’s microfinance institution loaned Sonia $850 to purchase imported supplies and new equipment for her salon. She also received training in accounting and learned how to restock her supplies without reducing her capital. Putting her new knowledge to work, Sonia has expanded her business by 50 percent. She now earns up to $700 a month and is able to support her children. She repaid her loan in six installments.

"Most of the time I couldn’t afford all the supplies I needed to work -- and then I lost a lot of clients," Sonia recalls. She is grateful to World Vision for taking a chance on her small business, and for giving her a renewed sense of hope: "Without this loan I would still be struggling to keep the beauty parlor."