Selvia starts her day at 4.30 am so she can buy spices such as chilli and onion in order to sell them at Girian traditional market. Her husband has long since passed away and all of her children are married.

Selvia is a member of the Karya Sejati loan group that has been specially set up to offer smaller loans than normal to those in extreme poverty situations.  She was a refugee from nearby Maluku, due to the Islamic Jihad in 2000.

Before she joined the loan group her life was severely limited by her inability to grow her very small business. In fact, she could only buy the spices she needed each day due to lack of capital and then borrow someone else's table in order to sell them. Her daily net income, when she worked, was around 20,000 Rupiah (A$ 3).

Not long after joining with the Bridge of Hope loan program, her condition has dramatically changed. Instead of borrowing the table, she can afford to pay the rent of 150.000 Rupiah per month for a market stall and sell a much greater quantity of spices and farm produce to her customers. If she is not able to sell everything in the market, she brings her merchandise back to refugees camp and sell them there. Her net income has nearly tripled in the last 3 months to approximately 55.000 Rupiah per day (A$ 8).

She is now able to make a small amount of savings to provide for herself as she gets older and to pay for medical bills. She now has a small safety net under her, from the pressure of poverty, for the first time since her husband died.

Selvia is one example of the over 800 family business units that have received small loans, business training and support due to Manly's active action in their partnership with Manado.

Thank you for your continued partnership.