Break the Cycle: Help Sudan's Families Build Businesses, Not Depend on Aid
In Sudan, a hand extended for help is seen every day. But what if that hand could hold a tool instead? What if it could weave, bake, sew, or build?
For families across Sudan—especially those displaced by conflict, widows caring for children alone, and youth with nowhere to turn—poverty is not just a lack of money. It is a trap. Years of conflict, economic collapse, and displacement have stripped away not only homes and possessions but also dignity and self-reliance . Too many families have been reduced to waiting for aid, not because they lack ambition, but because they lack the one thing that could unlock their potential: opportunity.
Oxfam believes that the most sustainable way to fight poverty is to empower people to fight it themselves. That is why we have been working in Sudan for more than 30 years, providing not just emergency relief but long-term solutions through microfinance and livelihood programs . Our Economic Empowerment through Microfinance Program provides small loans and business training to help families start sustainable businesses and achieve true financial independence.
Consider Fatima Hamid, a divorced single mother in Khartoum's poorest suburbs. Two years ago, she took her first loan of just $250 from Oxfam. She set up a small shop selling mobile phone credit—capitalizing on a booming new technology. "Business is very good," Fatima says. "I've taken three loans over the past two years, and repaid them all. It's growing—the first loan was $250 and the most recent was $750." Today, Fatima supports her eight-year-old daughter, provides food and clothing, and has even returned to school to finish her education .
Or consider Fatima from Darfur, who was forced to flee her village at just 16 when war broke out. Married young to find stability, she later received business training from Oxfam. She started small—selling onions and tomatoes with minimal capital. Gradually, her income grew. She expanded into selling bed linen and curtains. Today, she supports her mother and siblings and is preparing to return to school to become a doctor. Even more inspiring, she now trains others in her village to start their own savings groups and businesses .
These stories are not unusual. Across Sudan, Oxfam's microfinance and savings programs are transforming lives. Through Saving for Change groups in Darfur, women pool their savings, take small loans, and invest in one another's businesses. "The Saving for Change group enables us to pay school fees, and buy healthy food and medicines for our children," says Kubra Ahmed, a group president in North Darfur. "Now, we feel confident. Sometimes we think we are stronger than men because we not only have money—we are well organized" .
This is what microfinance achieves. It is not charity that creates dependence—it is investment that creates entrepreneurs. "In poor communities, when people have ideas and determination, just a little bit of help can have an enormous impact," says Salwa Marhoum, an Oxfam project officer in Khartoum. "Through microfinance—giving small loans—we aim to create the opportunity for them to lift themselves out of poverty" .
Your support does more than fund a loan. It funds a future. It tells a struggling mother that she can provide for her children herself. It tells a young entrepreneur that his ideas matter. It tells a displaced family that they can rebuild—not just their homes, but their lives.
Join Oxfam in breaking the cycle of poverty. Help us turn small loans into big dreams, and big dreams into sustainable livelihoods across Sudan.
Your Investment:
$100 - Business training for one person
$250 - Startup kit for small business
$500 - Microloan for one entrepreneur
$1,000 - Support 5 families to start businesses