Daw Aye Aye Aung, a SOO beneficiary in Myanmar
Daw Aye Aung is accompanied by Sont Oo Tehtwin (SOO), Entrepreneurs du Monde’s social microfinance program in Myanmar. She testifies.
“I am a paddy farmer in a village called Taw Pyar, close to Kawhmu in the southern part of the Yangon Region. My parents were also paddy farmers, but their income was very low. I helped them in the paddy field since I was very young. Before we owned the farm, I used to work on other farms, but the daily wage was very low. The working day started at 5 am and ended at sunset. But the income was only enough to buy one ration of food…
Meeting with SOO, a social microfinance program
I am very grateful to SOO because it’s the only microfinance institution who gave me a loan for such a small production. All the other MFI I know request farmers to own at least 5 acres of land, which excludes all the small farmers like me or the ones who don’t own any land. I have already received 3 loans from SOO. I used the current one (190 €) for the diesel and maintenance of my tiller and the wages of the workers I have to employ. SOO has also helped us through trainings, both financial and agricultural ones. I have learn how to calculate my real income. I also want to highlight the support of the agriworker. She helped me to control the pests and diseases. By following her advices, I could get better yields.
Improving work and daily life
During two years, we worked hard to manage to save enough money to build this house. It’s a very important change in our lives, because until last year, we were living directly in the farm without any access to electricity and with very poor facilities. While saving money for the house, we were also able to invest in the education of our children. We have two children. Because of COVID-19, my 18-year-old child’s school is closed, that’s why he helps us on the farm. In the future, I would like to invest in a small grocery shop to generate some income during the dry season.”
