I do all my work by hand with the support of the women I trained. My dream is to expand my project and for everyone to know my work.
Jamla Al-Hanandeh - West Irbid
- > 133,629 active borrowers
- >126,418 active borrowers are women
- Total amount of loans disbursed is > 28,947,152
- Repayment rate is >91.6%
- > 33,781 loans
- > 32 international and local awards
- > 63 branches
- > 793 employees
- > 580 employees are women
When I was 27, I got married to my husband who was 57 years old. My husband was supportive of what I wanted to do, so he would take me to seamstresses so I could learn how to knit. I found out I had a real talent.
In in 2004, I applied for my first loan at Microfund for Women. I bought the materials necessary to be able to sew and create pieces of clothing. In 2016 my husband got in a car crash and got his leg crushed. To this day, I still find it hard to explain to my 14-year-old son what my husband is going through. A few months later, he got Alzheimer’s. My project officially became my family’s sole source of income. I’m consistently taking loans from MFW, which helped my project take off and sustain.
I expanded my project where I now have around 40 women working with me, the women I work with, work from their homes and I go around Jordan to collect the pieces. I also take my husband with me to work every day because my son and I are the only two people he remembers. After my work took off, I was able to pay for my husband’s Alzheimer medication, buy a new house, and I even bought my own car! This shows how everyone can achieve their dreams if they don’t give up.