Clothing children

woman at her sewing machine

San is 54 years old and married with one child. She has been in sewing for 15 years and her shop’s specialty is boys clothing. For the last 10 years she has been living and working in Hlaing Thor Yar township in Myanmar.

She is a long time VisionFund client and businesswoman having taken out 14 loans. Her first loan helped her buy fabric and with her most recent loan, she was able to buy three new electric sewing machines (300k each - $189) – a big step up from the manual or used machines she used to purchase.

Woman and employee holding clothing they made

Her business has grown so much she now employs 10 staff and those staff are now able to provide better living conditions for their families. She says, “Before, it was difficult for employees to pay their rent, but now through the steady income of working for me, they can pay their rent on time.”

Woman standing in front of her shop

Each employee makes 20-30 shirt and shorts sets per day which she sells for 1,500 MK (US$0.94) per set. She also sells some of her clothing to a shop in town.