Cakweli lives in the Mugina Municipality, in the province of Cibitoke (Burundi), with his wife and son. He is one of the members of the community microcredit groups supported by AMU and CASOBU with the project Si può fare! , which contributes to the socio-economic recovery of families through community microcredit.
The man learned about the It Can Be Done! project in 2020. At the time, he and his family were facing some financial difficulties, including paying the rent for the house they lived in. However, Cakweli had always worked for the benefit of his family, even though the money he earned by transporting goods and people by bicycle was not enough to support and meet all their needs. He did not know how to get out of this situation. After learning about the community microcredit in Mubere, one of the hills reached by the project, he joined the Shirukubute savings and credit group. And thanks to participation in the community microcredit, he was able to broaden his horizons and take advantage of the opportunities it offered, such as access to savings and credit for income-generating activities. Thanks to training and coaching on savings and credit, Cakweli developed activities that allowed him to improve the lives of not only his family, but also his community. He proudly told us about his experience in community microcredit and the steps he has already taken: “During the first year, I took out a loan of 200,000 francs to grow cassava and beans and made 470,000 francs from the harvest, with a profit of 270,000 francs. After repaying the loan, I had 210,000 left. I then took out a second loan of 200,000 BIF (Burundian francs – ed.) to start a shop , where I sell various items.
Thanks to the support I received, I felt motivated and practiced more. Creative ideas are coming more and more: I added other services to expand my field, such as charging cell phone batteries for people who cannot do it at home.
I also started making the donuts that I sell in the shop . It is a relief for the locals, who used to travel long distances to buy them. My capital is now 680,000 BIF and I can earn up to 150,000 BIF per month after all expenses. I no longer have problems paying rent, neither for the house nor for the shop .” Cakweli has a dream and hopes to make it come true one day thanks to community microcredit: “One day I would like to open a bakery. At the moment I use the traditional method, but I would like to become more professional and be a famous baker, contributing to the development of the country through my work”.
