Faouzia Manirambona has a great gift: her hands are capable of creating wonderful embroideries , they weave colored threads with skill and with a wisdom that comes from afar. Faouzia lives in Buyenzi, in the province of Bujumbura, in Burundi. She is a widow and has two daughters. Embroidering sheets is her job, along with selling used objects. A passion that allows her to support her family: “I buy solid-colored fabrics that I transform into sheets thanks to embroidery with a needle and cotton threads. Then I resell them”.
Faouzia is a member of one of the microcredit and savings groups supported by CASOBU (Cadre Associatif des solidaires du Burundi) through the project Si può fare! supported by AMU , because the development – conscious – of local communities is based on the skills and ideas of those who are part of it. She is a smart woman, who immediately invested in her small business to make it progress gradually. If before, in fact, she could buy a limited number of fabrics, not having enough money to invest, now her first step was to increase the purchase: “I ran to the market to look for fabrics” . And the results arrived: “The work is continuous. When I finish embroidering a sheet I start another one directly, without interruptions because I have more material available. Now I can embroider up to ten sheets a year, while before I couldn’t do it”.
Now she can finally take care of her daughters without difficulty. Her life has changed. But she still has a dream to realize: to be able to work in her own home, because “Paying rent every month slows down my business” . Taking part in the community microcredit program has represented a turning point for her, of which she is aware . She is convinced that this support is fundamental for the development of her community; so much so that she spends part of her time raising awareness among other women who live in precarious conditions, inviting them to join the project Si può fare! And here too the first results have arrived: together with them she has created a new microcredit and savings group.
