One fine example of an enterprising individual is Ishrat Yaqoob who despite her divorce and financially destitute condition emerged as a successful micro entrepreneur. Ishrat was married with three children and was completely dependent on her husband to provide for her and her family. Needless to say, her divorce completely crippled her financially as well as emotionally.

Every day we hear awe-inspiring stories of women who irrespective of their social status and family backgrounds have achieved something in their lives only through sheer determination and hard work. The hardships these women go through everyday are unimaginable and enough to send a chill down our spines. The way they conduct their lives is admirable and nothing less than commendable. One such story is that of Ghulam Zaitoon, a 61 year old woman who emerged as a true hero for her family.

Sofia, 47, is a self made woman whose perseverance and hard work has rightly earned her the respect and admiration of everyone around her. Sofia was born and brought up in Peshawar, where she acquired her basic education. She hailed from a poor family, where hardships and problems came in big packages. Despite her tender age, Sofia understood the numerous difficulties her parents faced whilst coping with the ever increasing household expenses.

Raffia is a 27 year old female with three kids and a husband living a content life in Baldia town. Though life may be good today, the same could not have been said about Raffia a few years ago when circumstances called for her to come to the forefront and become the main bread winner of the family.

Bushra Bibi runs her own noodle-making business from home. She still sells homemade vermicellis in the market but since she acquired loan from Khushhali Bank Limited things are quite different for her now. Initially, without financial support, she was facing multiple problems both at the business front and at home.

Jamali’s father died when she was still a child. But her tragedy did not end there. Her elder brother who took up the challenge of supporting their family of six members also died in an accident soon after. This was the time when Jamali’s family was fighting hard for survival as her younger brother was too young to earn and the family had no one else to turn to for help.

Sahib Khatoon lives with her husband and five children in D G Khan. Her husband, a poor milkman, is not able to sustain a family of seven with his meagre income. Hence, Sahib Khatoon was compelled to work in order to nourish her family. Being skilled in making various handicrafts (baskets, caps and hand fans) from date palm leaves, she decided to put her talents to best use to supplement her husband’s income. Although she earned 500-600 PKR weekly, it was still not enough to meet her expenses.

Sameena started her own business a couple of years back. Before that she went through financial hardships, as her husband, an ordinary plumber, earned only 3500-4000 PKR a month. It was very difficult for her to educate her daughters and pay for the household expenses including rent, with the monthly income of her husband. Therefore resolute in her mission to keep her daughters in school, Sameena decided to start her own business which she could manage from home in a small budget.

Masoom Ali Shah lives with his wife and seven children in Muzaffarabad.  A craftsman by profession, he was living off a meagre pension from the small industry department of the Government of Azad Jammu &Kashmir. His monthly pension was so insignificant that he was unable to make both ends meet. His limited income was also affecting his children’s education. So he decided to establish a training and production centre. But lack of funds was a great obstacle as his plans were big and resources scant.

Riaz Hussain is a farmer from Mehboob Maitlo village, Sukkur. Although he is hard working, several factors have led him to be unsuccessful in his agriculture business. His main concerns are the scarcity of water for his crops. The rising inflation, causing raw material input expenses to be greater than his income. As if this was not enough, Hussain also has to deal with losing his crops to natural disasters.

Ali Sher Sheikh, a resident of Sukkur, is another living example of how lives have changed since Khushhali Bank Limited offered a helping hand to such people who were otherwise living hand to mouth.