When you first meet Habibah, you immediately sense a very brave and honest woman - and this feeling only gets stronger the more you talk with her. Habibah’s story is an inspiration to say the least – a tsunami survivor, mother of four and successful business woman...
Prior to the tsunami, Mizwar and his wife ran two very prosperous rice mills for 25 years in Padang Datar. But this livelihood was destroyed and Mizwar had to think quickly about what kind of business he could develop to make enough money to feed the many mouths of his surviving family...
April 2008 was a red hot month for two FBA beneficiaries
based in Saree, Aceh Besar. Last year, Deli and Siti both applied
to FBA for 8,500,000 rupiah each to start a chili farm based in
the agricultural hub of Aceh Besar. Working with Local Motivator
Jauhari, the proposal was accepted and seedlings, fertilizer, plant
food, piping and stakes were purchased.
Driven by a passion to help others achieve their
dreams, FBA’s Founder – Azwar Hasan recently held a
workshop at the FBA office for local academics and professionals
seeking international scholarships.
Abdullah’s passion is coffee, and for two
years prior to the tsunami, he and his family earned their living
from roasting and milling robusta beans from the Gayo Mountains.
Abdullah purchased the green beans from local traders, roasted them
over a fire and ground them using a traditional wooden foot-operated
mill like the ones that can be found in most households in Aceh.
He and his family operated the business successfully, with occasional
help from neighbours during times of high demand, and most of the
coffee produced was sold to local peddlers.
With this third success story book, we are privileged to share the experiences of a small, but representative number of beneficiaries who have overcome catastrophe and tremendous odds to restart businesses in Aceh...
A journey of a thousands miles begins with a single
step. This proverb truly helped motivate me to do something to help
myself, my family and my homeland
of Aceh when in December 2004, the tsunami destroyed everything
dear to me.I felt like I had lost everything in my life. It was
hard to believe what I saw: There was nothing left after the tsunami.
More than 300,000 people lost their lives. We lost beloved parents,
brothers, sisters and friends. How were we to start life again?...
Sometimes charity can foster dependance, making
traumatized victims who have lost everything into welfare cases
with no control over their lives or their futures.
Such is not the case with the following FBA success stories, which
are inspirational and a tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit...
