Veteran Loan Client Dealt a Heavy Blow
Gaza, January 2008
Aysha Abd El-Qader Ehmaid is an innovative and entrepreneurial woman from the Sheikh Radwan area of Gaza city. In 1979, Aysha took her first steps as a trader when she started selling second-hand clothes to women in her neighbourhood from a small room in her own house. Later, as the sewing industry developed in Gaza, Aysha began selling locally manufactured children’s and women’s clothes. She also embroidered traditional Palestinian dresses and other garments, which she sold to her customers.
Aysha is a veteran UNRWA client. She took out her first loan when the Microfinance programme was established in 1994. Aysha, like many other suitcase traders, used to travel abroad to buy popular goods which she could re-sell in Gaza. From Egypt, she would buy women’s and children’s clothing, and aluminium cookers; and from Jordan, embroidery like traditional Palestinian dresses and bed and pillow covers.
Before each of her business trips, Aysha took out an UNRWA loan. For 12 years, her business expanded and she was able to pay back her loan instalments without difficulty, earning a monthly profit of around USD 500. "If you take out a loan, you have to pay it back," was the advice she used to give other women wanting to start their own business.
When Hamas won the Legislative Council elections in January 2006, Israel closed the Egypt-Gaza border crossing and immediately ceased contact with the Palestinian Authority (PA), halting all tax revenue transfers. In April 2006, international donor funding to the PA was also suspended. Palestinian government staff salaries went unpaid for the following 12-18 months.
Aysha, like other Gazan civilians, was seriously affected by these developments. When her three married sons did not receive their salaries, the entire burden of supporting 25 family members fell on Mother Aysha’s shoulders. The income she generated from the sale of her goods began to prove inadequate to cover her household’s basic living expenses.
With the Gazan borders closed more often than not, Aysha could no longer travel abroad. When she had sold her entire inventory of Egyptian and Jordanian goods, she tried to sell locally manufactured goods instead and to increase the sale of her own embroidered garments. Despite her strenuous efforts and remarkable innovation, the profit generated from locally manufactured goods was considerably less than the sum she used to earn selling Egyptian and Jordanian imports. This meant that for the first time in 12 years Aysha was unable to repay her monthly loan instalments on time.
Since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the Egypt-Gaza border has been tightly sealed. Most local clothing manufacturers have been forced to shut down as the cost of production has sky-rocketed, putting goods beyond the reach of the majority of Gaza citizens. Aysha herself is no longer able to buy from local manufacturers, "I used to pay NIS 20-25 for a kid’s suit, but now it costs me more than NIS 50."
At present, Aysha can only afford to sell her own handmade embroidery, which earns her a monthly income of just NIS 200 (approx USD 50), an amount that makes it impossible for her to meet the basic needs of her family, let alone to pay back the remaining instalments of her loan. "Every day our situation becomes worse. We don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel that might allow us to take a risk. I’m very concerned that such a large family should exist without a main source of income," says Aysha.
Aysha in 2005 – At the Height of her Success: "I've been working like this for 35 years. My passion is to trade, buy and sell".
Gaza, January 2008
Aysha Abd El-Qader Ehmaid is an innovative and entrepreneurial woman from the Sheikh Radwan area of Gaza city. In 1979, Aysha took her first steps as a trader when she started selling second-hand clothes to women in her neighbourhood from a small room in her own house. Later, as the sewing industry developed in Gaza, Aysha began selling locally manufactured children’s and women’s clothes. She also embroidered traditional Palestinian dresses and other garments, which she sold to her customers.
Aysha is a veteran UNRWA client. She took out her first loan when the Microfinance programme was established in 1994. Aysha, like many other suitcase traders, used to travel abroad to buy popular goods which she could re-sell in Gaza. From Egypt, she would buy women’s and children’s clothing, and aluminium cookers; and from Jordan, embroidery like traditional Palestinian dresses and bed and pillow covers.
Before each of her business trips, Aysha took out an UNRWA loan. For 12 years, her business expanded and she was able to pay back her loan instalments without difficulty, earning a monthly profit of around USD 500. "If you take out a loan, you have to pay it back," was the advice she used to give other women wanting to start their own business.
When Hamas won the Legislative Council elections in January 2006, Israel closed the Egypt-Gaza border crossing and immediately ceased contact with the Palestinian Authority (PA), halting all tax revenue transfers. In April 2006, international donor funding to the PA was also suspended. Palestinian government staff salaries went unpaid for the following 12-18 months.
Aysha, like other Gazan civilians, was seriously affected by these developments. When her three married sons did not receive their salaries, the entire burden of supporting 25 family members fell on Mother Aysha’s shoulders. The income she generated from the sale of her goods began to prove inadequate to cover her household’s basic living expenses.
With the Gazan borders closed more often than not, Aysha could no longer travel abroad. When she had sold her entire inventory of Egyptian and Jordanian goods, she tried to sell locally manufactured goods instead and to increase the sale of her own embroidered garments. Despite her strenuous efforts and remarkable innovation, the profit generated from locally manufactured goods was considerably less than the sum she used to earn selling Egyptian and Jordanian imports. This meant that for the first time in 12 years Aysha was unable to repay her monthly loan instalments on time.
Since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the Egypt-Gaza border has been tightly sealed. Most local clothing manufacturers have been forced to shut down as the cost of production has sky-rocketed, putting goods beyond the reach of the majority of Gaza citizens. Aysha herself is no longer able to buy from local manufacturers, "I used to pay NIS 20-25 for a kid’s suit, but now it costs me more than NIS 50."
At present, Aysha can only afford to sell her own handmade embroidery, which earns her a monthly income of just NIS 200 (approx USD 50), an amount that makes it impossible for her to meet the basic needs of her family, let alone to pay back the remaining instalments of her loan. "Every day our situation becomes worse. We don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel that might allow us to take a risk. I’m very concerned that such a large family should exist without a main source of income," says Aysha.
Aysha in 2005 – At the Height of her Success: "I've been working like this for 35 years. My passion is to trade, buy and sell".
this story is taken from www.unrwa.org website
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