Sheela is a mother of two boys, both in high school. Sheela runs and manages her own food cart. Before Sheila approached VCT, Her family struggled to stay afloat economically. During the initial stages of her business, she couldn’t afford the basic investment required to keep her business running and was forced to take a high-interest loan. Sheila was spending more to pay off the loan than she was earning.

Through the IGP program, Sheila was granted a zero interest loan with which she was able to get out of her previous debt as well as upgrade her food cart and buy ingredients. Now her business is running successfully, and she has dreams of getting her own food truck some day. Right now her priority is keeping both her boys in school, the older one wants to be an engineer and the younger one wants to be a dancer.

Many of the families we meet at VCT are a single parent household, where the mother is the sole breadwinner. Most women receive no help from extended family and both childcare and providing for the family are left up to them. Not only is it difficult for the mothers who often work multiple jobs and still don’t make enough to survive, but children also suffer as they aren’t giving the security and stability they need.

The Income Generation Program reaches out to these mothers and provides them alternate means of income. Having their own business means that their hours are flexible and they are able to keep their children with them while they work, it also provides them with the feeling of empowerment. When a mother’s needs are fulfilled so are her children’s. The women also work closely with our project officers who ensure that their business is reaching its full potential and they are provided with training programs to help them effectively manage their families and business. We believe that children should have every chance to grow up in a happy, carefree environment. This program gives every mother a chance to provide that for her child and for herself.