Hawa, who lives in Kassala, Sudan, has trouble raising her nine children because her husband took a second wife and now contributes little towards their care.
She and her youngsters used to sell peanuts and spices at the town market to make a living.
But Hawa worried about her children being at the market so late at night.
Then she learned of a women's mutual support group, originally formed to allow for sharing of sugar and soap for family events including weddings and funerals.
This group later joined a credit and small business programme supported by the Agency for Co-operation and Research in Development (ACORD), an Oxfam partner organisation.
Hawa, with three school-age children, attended school herself for just three years. But since then she has educated herself. She now heads the support group and has undertaken courses in financial and leadership skills through an ACORD training programme.
With a small loan from the programme, the group first got involved in fattening cows. But animal fodder was getting scarce and the business was unable to make sufficient profits.
