Gifted with a talent for stitching, Ms. Samreena wanted to contribute towards household earnings – she started out with an old swing machine and a few people came to her to get some clothing articles made. Her husband too worked in a tailoring shop in Gujranwala.

However, Ms. Samreena had bigger dreams – she applied for the Khud Mukhtar program and, after being accepted as a successful applicant, was able to start her own Tailoring Shop at home. In the PKR 72,000 allotted to her under the Khud Mukhtar program, she was able to get a Juki machine, a traditional swing machine, an iron and another tailoring accessory – and that helped both Ms. Samreena and her husband run their own tailoring business at home. Ms. Samreena’s mother now also runs a tailoring accessories shop in same house.

Ms. Samreena now happily recounts how customers come in large numbers for stitching. Thanks to her new advanced Juki machine, she has now also been able to make beautiful embroidered ladies suits. The couple is very grateful to the Khud Mukhtar program – she happily says ‘Ab mera miyan merey saath kaam karte hain aur bacchey bhi school jatey hein’ (now my husband works with me, and my children also get to go to school).