Sara Youssef

Sara Youssef of Deir Ballout village received a microloan to open a party supply shop to service her village. She has a special talent to set up and manage wedding parties and special occasions.

Sara, the mother of six, says “I love seeing young men and women getting married in town. In our weddings here, people get all their wedding-supply needs from out of town, because we don't have a good shop that can supply all the party needs.”

Sara's plan was to service most if not all weddings in her community. When she planned, there was no similar shop in the area. Since her opening, two other party shops have opened in the same village. This affected her work as the number of customers has decreased since the opening level.

Sara has responded as a competent businesswoman to this situation. She repriced her stock to make her products more competitive to attract customers, and the PFTA is supporting her by marketing her store through its local coordinators and nearby farmer cooperatives. Summer wedding season is starting and Sara hopes to make her sales plan. She certainly will learn useful management skills from this setback.

In her free time, Sara likes to use wheat straw to create all kinds of trays, baskets and containers. “I love art and colors; colors bring joy, and I like to see people happy. I love to do my own art with my choice of color,” Sara says.