Maria Azimi - Samangan Women's Handicrafts Company

Maria established, Samangan Women's Handicrafts Company in 2015 but owned businesses for almost two decades. Restrictions on women, implemented by the Taliban, wreaked havoc on her handicraft business. Overnight there were no customers. She could not pay rent or salaries. She couldn’t support her 9 children. She was close to losing everything. The Giving Joy grant enabled her to re-ignite her business, and continue to employ her women staff and make a decent living.