It was interesting to note how the poor can work hard against all odds.

I came across the story about an Afghan woman - Shakila - who through her influence and strong believe in work hard, influenced several others to join hands in changing their lives. This goes along to confirm the fact the poor are poor not by choice but by circumstance and, given a choice, they will do all they can to get out of it.

Some nice quotations:

Honor

She was honoured as a “hero of poverty eradication” alongside her peers at the United Nations on Nov. 8

Growth by lips and bounds

Shakila’s story of overturning her misfortunes begins long before her first application to Parwaz, a microfinance institution in Kabul four years ago for a microcredit of 5000 Afs (roughly $100). In her teens, Shakila was forced to marry her cousin, a marriage she so resolutely objected that, after pouring gasoline on, she set herself alight to commit suicide. She was rescued but the damage had been caused: the fire had not only severely disfigured parts of her skin, but also melted part of her bones in the right arm, rendering her incapable of fully using her right arm. Despite her initial defiance, she went on to marry the same person, from whom she mothered three children.

The power of unity

Shakila joined forces with her sister and mother to start their business and with their first micro- loan they bought a sewing machine and a few meters of cloth and launched their tailoring workshop. Now, several rounds of microcredit applications and paybacks and months of campaigning later, she is the group leader of a tailoring cooperative bringing together 35 entrepreneurs like her.