Nomusa Dube is earning a decent living through her lucrative baking enterprise.

Before joining Hand in Hand Zimbabwe, the 57-year-old woman who lives in Chitete village in Ward 3, Lupane District endured a difficult life as she solely depended on subsistence farming in a drought-prone area.

In 2020, Nomusa joined other women to form Mabokondigwase Self Help Group (SHG) after a Hand in Hand Zimbabwe(HiHZim) awareness-raising meeting. The SHG was in Opportunity Identification amongst five other Hand in Hand Zimbabwe Modular trainings.

Nomusa then realised that there were several business opportunities in her community and established a baking enterprise.

The budding entrepreneur bakes 40 cakes per month and makes an average income of USD$200.

“I can openly testify that HiHZim transformed me from being a housewife to an entrepreneur. I now spend most of my time producing and marketing my cakes.

“The well-being of my family has improved because I can pay school fees and provide decent meals for them.

“Hand in Hand Zimbabwe has made great strides in empowering vulnerable communities and we have acquired like skills that liberated us from the donor dependency syndrome,” she said.