{"id":220059,"date":"2024-10-14T13:02:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T18:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/?p=220059"},"modified":"2024-10-14T13:02:50","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T18:02:50","slug":"zoe-awakens-salomes-spirit-ignites-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/\/zoe-awakens-salomes-spirit-ignites-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Zoe awakens Salome\u2019s spirit and ignites her purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"
The day Salome\u2019s father disappeared is one she\u2019ll never forget.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She and her two younger siblings had gone to school. Their mother was tending to the small home the family of five shared, while their father provided for the household. This pattern of life resembled many other families living in rural Tanzania.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When Salome\u2019s father didn\u2019t return home, the family worried but tried to remain hopeful. However, after days turned to weeks without correspondence, Salome knew her greatest fear had come true: her father had abandoned them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As an uneducated woman, Salome\u2019s mother had limited income potential and was only able to find work weeding her neighbor\u2019s gardens. Salome dropped out of school to help support her family as they struggled to find enough food, often going without. Eventually, Salome\u2019s siblings dropped out, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When Salome heard Zoe Empowers was starting new empowerment groups in her community, she went to the meeting and explained her situation to the facilitator. Zoe accepted Salome and her family to the program, and within three months, she received a start-up kit to open a hair salon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Salome was interested in hairdressing even before her father disappeared, but it wasn\u2019t until she joined Zoe that she believed she could pursue her dream. Her passion for the trade and desperation to feed her family motivated her to run a successful business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For the first year, Salome shared a salon with another Zoe group member, which allowed both girls to split expenses and resources while saving money to take care of their families and make improvements at home. One of the first projects Salome completed was building a new latrine. She also added a floor, windows, roof and door to improve her home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n