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In The Light in the Heart, Roy T. Bennit wrote: “Life is about accepting the challenges along the way, choosing to keep moving forward, and savoring the journey.”
Meet Zhumabubu, a 64-year old single mother living in Chuy, Kyrgyzstan. She has 7 children who live in different cities, including her youngest who has learning disabilities and still lives with her at the farmhouse.
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The smell of fresh cucumbers and the taste of vine-ripened tomatoes bring back nostalgic memories of when organic food was the norm. Now, because of the high global demand for fruits and vegetables, many farmers have turned to the use of industrial techniques that often produce mass quantities, yet less flavorful produce.
Evgeniya is an active and goal-oriented farmer who doesn’t use any of these techniques - she produces organic products instead. She lives with her husband Vasily, who works as the chief engineer at a collective farm...
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If your stomach is rumbling and begging for tantalizing snacks, street vendors are a great option. Vendors’ delicious and affordable food often represents their passion for sharing their culture. In addition to their own unique carts and treats, each vendor has a story of how they started their business.
Meet Adjogno! She works tirelessly every day to bring a better life for her family, who is her motivation. She will do anything she can to help them finish their education. "I enjoy working; my biggest motivation is my children," Adjogno said, "I want them to go to the...
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Many people dream of owning their own house. Home is where you build your memories. Shelter is a basic human need.
Isbelia lives with her husband and her 1-year-old child in a rural area near San Vincente, El Salvador. As a mobile nurse, she travels to the surrounding communities to provide medicine, conduct check-ups and give injections. She also sells clothes from her home to contribute to the household income.
Isbelia’s family home was built on dirt, without tile floors, and her roof was in disrepair. But she got a Kiva loan to fix the roof and add...
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Imagine your home as a daycare with 15 kids, with the responsibility to take care of all of them and make sure they are healthy and happy. It might be overwhelming. But for Rosalba, it’s been her dream to run a daycare.
Rosalba lives with her 2 children in a poor neighborhood of Medellin, Colombia. She opened up about the hardships she faced and the challenges in working long hours in daycare. "I could easily work less and only care about making money, but I do this with love and care for the children."
She understands the children's...
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The problem
Camping with friends is always a fun activity, but building the bonfire is sometimes challenging. The smoke can get in your eyes, wooden splinters can piece your hands, coughs and minor burns can keep you up past midnight.
For many people who don't have access to adequate cooking stoves or heaters, this is their...
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Many dream of becoming leaders and change-makers to create opportunities for others. Obstacles often stand in their way to reach these dreams. They can either stop dreaming or work through them.
An inspiring young woman from Mombasa, a coastal town in Kenya, journeyed to the United States with a dream to bring prosperity to the world. Since she was a child, Tabitha wanted to become a social leader.
Tabitha has been living her dream for the past 11 years, gaining experience in diverse sectors. She started her career as a Resource Development...
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It’s not easy to take care of animals. They must be fed, sheltered and their health must be monitored on a daily basis.
Vera is a 46-year-old mother of 3 who does just that. She lives in a village with a flawed water drainage system that causes flooding almost every year, as it's below sea level.
Albania is a small country in southeastern Europe's Balkan Peninsula. With a population of more than 2.5 million, many Albanians like Vera are excluded from basic financial access like Vera.
"My cows and pigs were not sleeping well and could not be...
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Victor Manuale made an income for the first time when he was 13. His first client was a woman in Barranquilla, Colombia. She asked him to pick some honey for her from a nearby town called Carmen de Bolivar.
Ever since then, Victor has been transporting natural products from Carmen de Bolivar to Barranquilla.
Victor went through many obstacles in his career, including when his brother-in-law fell ill and was unable to help him with the business. Victor had to work overtime.
“My advice for others in this type of...
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Suzana doesn’t let her heart condition stop her from providing for her family. She wants to make sure her family is provided with all their basic needs.
Suzana is one of 2,500 ethnically Egyptian people in Albania. As a minority, this community is financially marginalized and members often have difficulty accessing loans and proper health care.
Working is difficult for Suzana because she suffers from a heart condition. However, she has been able to provide for her family by growing crops on a small plot of her family’s land.
Suzana wanted to...
