BBC Three journalist, Stacey Dooley, visits lendwithcare entrepreneurs in Bosnia-Herzegovina

This week BBC Three journalist, Stacey Dooley, is visiting female entrepreneurs in Bosnia-Herzegovina who have received microloans through lendwithcare.org. Below she describes her first day meeting Azra Vatrenjak ...

Azra Vatrenjak in her shop in Sarajevo © CARE

DAY ONE

So here we are, arrived in Sarajevo. I've been given an amazing tour of the city by lendwithcare.org's local microfinance partner and CARE Bosnia. Then straight off to meet the lovely Azra. Amazing lady, remarkable story, massively inspiring. Azra's husband is very poorly and so she's had to take full responsibility in supporting the whole family. Her young lad is 11. Thanks to Lendwithcare, Azra has been able to make this happen. Her loan ensured she could get her own small business (a small general store in a suburb of Sarajevo) up and running. Better news still, she told me this afternoon she's moving premises to a bigger and better shop this Thursday. Cracking news. Hoping to pop my head round before I fly home. She told me she literally can't imagine where she would be if it wasn't for the loan.

Can't wait for tomorrow. Ciao!


To read more about Azra, and other women like her, please click here
You can read more about Stacey's trip to Bosnia on The Co-operative Join the Revolution blog