06 December 1999

BONN: Uneducated, married to an equally illiterate husband and a mother of six children, Rose Variaki until recently had accepted the harsh reality that she and her family would be forced to lead a life of poverty and want. With her husband Benny, Rose moved from the Western Provinces to the Lord Howe Atoll, in search of higher and more regular income. During those difficult years, Benny used to dive for sea cucumbers, which Rose sold at the market. They augmented their income by producing copra - dried coconut kernels. On a visit to Benny's parents in Honiara, the couple discovered that they could have an easier and better life cooking and selling fish and chips in the town's central market.

The first five years in their new community were frustrating. Profits from the fish and chips business only covered their daily needs, and they lacked knowledge of business management. Rose relates how they always worried about money for food. The financial problems caused strained family relationships, as there was not enough money for school fees. In December 1998, the Microcredit Scheme for Women, Solomon Islands Programme (UNDP-SIG SIMIWODS) - an income-generating initiative implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - was introduced to the Lord Howe Settlement. Rose joined the Programme and began to dream again. She finally got a chance to formalize her fish and chips business in March 1999.

Rose and her family are thankful for the changes in their lives brought about by the SIMIWODS Programme. "Before SIMIWODS, we always lacked money for food, everyday school needs and the school fees of the children," she says. Rose is enjoying a larger and more regular income from her fish and chips business. Other than her 20-year-old son, the children are all attending school regularly. She has managed to put away modest personal savings and she quickly paid off her first SIMIWODS loan. Rose is revolving the existing capital and is about to venture into another business with her husband, who is a carpenter. They are presently working on a plan for a furniture business.

*Willie Garcia is a UNV microfinance specialist in the Solomon Islands.