Gull Shah is a 42-year-old resident of Egizak village, Sar-e-Pul province. Ms. Gull Shah is a housewife. She is the mother of six daughters and four sons.
Gull Shah joined the EKRe project under the name of supporting food insecure women and their families through agriculture value chains in Sar-e-Pul province, Afghanistan, through a survey that is being implemented by the Hand in Hand Afghanistan Organization. Since joining this project, she has started a hopeful journey in her life.
Gull Shah has received two colonies of beehives and other necessary items for the start of a small enterprise from HIHAO. Moreover, she has received technical training about beekeeping, such as beehive feeding, treatment, marketing, and honey extraction, to run the established enterprise in a good manner. Also, during each visit, HIHAO staff mentored the beehive colonies and instructed her.
Gull Shah added, “Before joining this project, my family members were living in a bad economic condition, my husband is an old person he was employed as wage labor in a lumberyard. Sometimes we had a good income, and sometimes we spent weeks and weeks without cooking nutritional food.”.
Gull Shah’s dream was to have a job that would provide financial support for her family. Fortunately, through the HIHAO EKRE project, her dream came true.
“Through the HIHAO established enterprise, my living condition significantly changed, and now by selling one Kg of honey, I can earn 1100–1200 AFN, which helps me to take care of my family; even I could enroll my kids in school,” she said.
After joining this project, in addition to improving her family’s economic condition, her knowledge of running a beekeeping enterprise increased. Moreover, she acquired marketing skills, and she can manage the established enterprise properly. Gull Shah has plans to expand the beekeeping business in the future, and she also wants to be a coach for other women or a role model.
She appreciated HIHAO and all the coaches who help empower women by creating job opportunities through small enterprises. In addition, she wishes that more women had the same opportunity so they could help their families.
