From Surviving to Thriving: Transformation Through Opportunity
Nina Saleh is a mother of four daughters in Herz village, El Minya in Egypt. She and her husband, Girgis, built their life in a modest two-bedroom home, surrounded by community, sustained by faith, and stretched thin by the gap between what their family needed and what one income could provide. Nina had always known she was meant to do something that she didn’t know. But she just needed a door to open.
Lack of funds kept the family in a cycle of poverty
Every month told the same story. Girgis brought home roughly 7,000 EGP ($140) from part-time work as a ceramics supervisor and from farming. It was never enough. School fees alone reached 4,000 EGP ($80) per month. Food, clothing, doctor visits, household repairs; the needs kept coming. Nina stretched every pound as far as it would go. She kept careful accounts in her head. She said no to things that should have been yes. And she knew, with the quiet certainty of someone who has held a family together through years of not-quite-enough, that something had to change.
Nina received vocational training
When Nina heard about the Karma Women’s Development Center (KWDC) in El Minya, operated in partnership with the Council of Services and Development (CSD) and Finding Freedom through Friendship (FFF), she did not hesitate. She walked in carrying her dream and walked out with a plan. Through KWDC, Nina received vocational training and, critically, a 25,000 EGP ($500) microloan. The 12-month loan was structured with a set repayment term that fit the rhythm of a small food business. With Girgis support, she decided to set up a Foul & Ta’amiya takeout restaurant. Nina bought what she needed: a grinding stone for the ta’amiya mixture, a bean-cooking pot, a cooker, and a refrigerator. She rented a space near her home. She was ready.
Business was great
Within a year, Nina’s foul and ta’amiya restaurant was generating 11,000 EGP ($220) per month, more than Girgis’s entire salary. Such a reversal! The woman who once said no to things that should have been yes was now the primary earner. Girgis became her most devoted partner, rising early to purchase premium oil, the freshest vegetables, and the best fava beans he could find, because they both understood that quality was essential. Word spread. Customers came from neighboring villages. During public holidays, people pre-ordered to make sure they do not miss out. Their reservation book was full. Customers were turned away because they had sold the day’s food. Business was great.
Nina manages a social media page and a WhatsApp group for the restaurant, reaching customers beyond her village. Revenue covers restocking, upkeep, and household expenses. For the first time in her married life, Nina did not have to choose between her daughters’ education and the week’s groceries. Today, all four girls are in school. The house gained appliances. The family ate better. The numbers, finally, added up.
“My husband’s salary was not enough, but the project paid for the rest of our needs. Now we want to open inside a big, busy center.” Nina Saleh, mother and entrepreneur, is proof that the right support at the right time transforms lives.
Nina reversed poverty and created a sustainable future for her family
Nina and Girgis’s story is about more than a single restaurant. It is the story of a woman who turned a dream into a business. She reversed poverty into a sustainable future for her family.
Today, their eldest daughter, Maryam, is completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Three younger daughters continue their education without disruption due to a lack of funds. The family owns their home, keeps the lights on, and is planning their next step: a second location inside a local shopping center.
In Herz village and the surrounding communities, Nina’s kitchen is now a landmark and an inspiration. Neighbors see what Nina built. Daughters witness a woman as an empowered leader. The community that enjoys their food and ta’amiya marvels at the woman who ventured to give her family what was out of reach, and at a program that believed in her.
