Hard work and persistence helped Zhumabubu through hardships in Kyrgyzstan

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.

Despite the challenges she’s going through, Zhumabubu hasn’t stopped pursuing a better life for herself and her family. When she was younger, she lived on a farm long enough to gain excellent experience in raising livestock and farming. Using her savings after retiring from teaching in 1996, Zhumabubu bought a 4.5-hectare plot of land, along with 4 cows and 4 sheep. This is where her agricultural adventure began.

Farming has been the main source of income for the house since retirement from the classroom. Zhumabubu’s farming products are based on sugar beets, barley and clover.

But soon enough, it was time to set new goals. Zhumabubu got a Kiva loan of $750, which helped her to buy more livestock and fertilizer for the farm.

This loan is her first microfinance experience, and she says she’s very thankful to have access to low-interest capital through the Kiva platform. Zhumabubu has plans to sell her livestock once they have been fattened and use the profit to renovate her house and to expand her business.

There are many individuals who are going through financial challenges that prevent them from having a farming business. Want to help independent farmers like Zhumabubu? There are more Kyrgyzstani women starting businesses in the agriculture industry that need our funding. Click here to lend now.