Rose Odala

This is Rose Odala, a mother of three from Likoma Island in Lake Malawi. She saved with the Timbiri Savings and Credit Cooperative and went on to borrow MWK 50,000 (AUD 86) in order to establish a business selling dried fish. She has since established her business and repaid her loan to the community bank. Yet there is more power to this story! Rose was a victim of domestic violence and in ending an abusive marriage, needed to establish her financial independence to look after and educate her three children.

We are so inspired by Rose’s fierce determination to overcome so many forms of adversity. We are also proud of the fact that the community institution we helped establish, the Timbiri Savings and Credit Cooperative, is able to support women like Rose in pursuing their vision for their lives. A community owned and managed institution with a deep commitment to social impact, Rose is one of over 500 members. Coupled with her strength and determination, access to affordable capital and supportive staff have helped her forge a new path. Not just for her but for her children as well.