"Those who spend their wealth in Allah's way by night and by day, secretly and publicly — they will have their reward with their Lord." — Quran 2:274

Irshad Begum, a 53-year-old mother fights for the survival of her family in poverty, in a small town of Gujranwala. Irshad 's life is dedicated only towards providing well-being to her family. A few years ago when it was discovered that Irshad’s husband suffered from a severe illness, her family became the victim of extreme poverty. Every month, large chunk of Irshad’s income was spent on medical expenses. In her late 40s, Irshad started a small general store just outside her house with the limited amount of finances she had. It ran well initially but then problems increased. The store ran on minimal costs and produced a small amount of income. Irshad’s eldest son, Ashfaq, is a tailor and helps her mother with the household finances. This eases some of Irshad’s pressure but escaping poverty seems farfetched. Only Irshad’s youngest child attends a government school that too in the nearby locality. Irshad has requested a loan from Seed Out of $175 through its crowd funding platform in order to expand the inventory of her general store. She will purchase goods such as eatables, juices and snacks in wholesale so that more number of customers will buy from her which will eventually increase her earnings. Increased income will allow Irshad to take care of her husband in an improved way by getting his checkup from a better hospital. She plans to send her other three children to school so that when they grow up they end up having well paid jobs and do not live in poverty. Tags