Meet the girls and women

Meet Assamaou

Assamaou knows what it’s like to be poor and isolated. Married as a teenager, with no education or job skills, she struggled to care for her child on a remote homestead in rural Niger. Then she heard about Plan’s microfinance program and jumped at the chance to improve her life.

Joining a village savings and loans group, Assamaou received training in financial literacy and took out her first small loan to open a market stall selling household items. Her venture was a success but she didn’t stop there. Saving as much as she could from her market sales, Assamaou started to invest in other local businesses.

Within a year she had doubled her money and established herself as a wise business woman in her community.

“Before Plan, I had no income,” she says, “but today I am proud and have found the joy of living. I sincerely thank the people who created a project that helped me become an independent woman.”

Return to the Because I am a girl project