End Struggle. Help a Family Start a Small Business

During this reporting period, Samaritan’s Fellowship Foundation continued helping vulnerable individuals and families move from economic insecurity toward practical, dignified livelihoods. Although this project has received only limited funding through GlobalGiving so far, SFFP used locally mobilized resources, organizational support, and community partnerships to continue training and mentoring participants.

Livelihood Training and Progress

Eight families received training and support in candle-making and stitching. Women trained in candle-making were assisted in accessing raw materials and have begun producing candles for sale through local shops.

Three young women are now providing tailoring and stitching services from their homes. They receive orders from their neighborhoods and surrounding village, enabling them to earn without having to travel far from their families.

Three young men completed barber training and decided to work together. They established a small barbershop that is now operational and providing them with a regular source of income.

Five individuals also received driving training. Participants have pursued different livelihood pathways based on the opportunities available to them. One is operating a rickshaw, two have rented taxis and are working through app-based transport services, and another secured employment as a household driver. SFFP continues monitoring and guiding participants as they establish themselves.

A Broader and More Flexible Model

The experience showed us that no single livelihood model suits every family. Some participants can earn through home production, while others require professional skills, tools, transport, livestock, or support to establish a small shop.

For this reason, SFFP has consolidated its earlier GlobalGiving initiative, “Help 300 Women Achieve Economic Independence” (#45352), into this broader project. Women remain a priority, but the expanded model can now respond to the needs of entire vulnerable families through a wider range of income-generating opportunities.

This consolidated approach forms part of our StartFish livelihood pathway, which focuses on helping people move from temporary assistance toward skills, enterprise, and sustainable income.

Strengthening Implementation

SFFP has also invested in staff capacity-building and stronger coordination with relevant government departments and like-minded organizations. This helps us avoid duplication, improve beneficiary referrals, use available community resources, and connect livelihood assistance with wider poverty-alleviation mechanisms.

Our next steps include mentoring the newly trained participants, monitoring income progress, supporting access to tools and raw materials, and identifying additional families ready to begin viable small businesses.

We sincerely thank our GlobalGiving supporter and everyone helping vulnerable families replace dependency with skills, opportunity, and dignified work.