Pn Empina's Road to Financial Independence

Meet Pn Empina anak Wat – a mother of two teenagers, an administrator in a local factory and a church leader. We had the privilege to meet Pn Empina in February 2022, when we first conducted an introduction to the Financial Literacy Programme (FLP) with Taman Tunku Methodist. Since then, we have been journeying with her in our FLP course; then being trained as a community facilitator; and also as a co-facilitator of the course for a new group of community participants. Her journey did not end there. She applied for a microfinance loan with Malaysian CARE to start a small business to support her family.

   

From participant to trainer - sharing her experiences and transformation stories with others and leading discussions in one of the FLP sessions.

Pn Empina’s testimony

“My pastor encouraged me to participate in the financial literacy course. I am grateful to Malaysian CARE for the programme as it has given me knowledge to manage my personal and my family’s finances efficiently. I felt the call to continue to share the awareness of financial literacy with my community, as a facilitator as well as through my testimony. As I teach, I learn new things too. I also began to see changes in my family. 

When the opportunity arose, I took up Malaysian CARE’s microfinance loan to generate extra income to support my husband and children’s education. I am currently making and selling beaded handicrafts, a hobby I cultivated upon the request of family and friends. With the microfinance loan, I was able to increase the variety of products for my friends and customers to choose from. My advice to anyone interested in crafts, or has a hobby, is this: do not stop there but keep on learning and finding opportunities to use your skills to bring in extra income for the family. I highly recommend that community members, like myself, participate in programmes like the Financial Literacy Programme to add to their knowledge and bring benefit to the family.”

Pn Empina inspires us through her dedication, determination and hard work in transforming herself to be more financially independent and bring her family out of poverty. We pray for God’s favour and blessings upon her, and that many more from her community will be inspired and challenged to bring hope and transformation to their families and communities alike.

Story written by Felicia Laing, Community Development Leader

Taken from Malaysian CARE's quarterly newsletter - Care Contact, Mar 2023 Edition.