An open sewer runs past the flimsy tin door that leads into her claustrophobically small home. There’s only so much to be squeezed into less than 49-square-feet of living space. But Yewbday, the 42-year-old owner, beams with pride.

“I received the fryer from Convoy of Hope,” she says before dropping several balls of dough into the vat of oil. “Before I came into the program, my daughter and I had nowhere to sleep.”

The program Yewbday speaks of is Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment Program in Lideta, Ethiopia that affords impoverished women an opportunity to let their entrepreneurial leanings become realities so they can feed and care for their children.

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“More than two-thirds of the households in Lideta live on less than $30 per month,” says Kara Edson, Convoy of Hope’s International Program Manager. “Due to the extreme poverty, many people here are unable to send their children to school and inhabitants are constantly exposed to health, sanitation and nutritional issues.”

Since enrolling in the program one year ago Yewbday has made enough money to find housing, pay for medical care, enroll her daughter in school, purchase food daily and even save the equivalent of $1,000 that she plans to use to open a full-fledged restaurant.

“The program has improved my life,” says Yewbday as she gets back to slicing dough on the chopping block. “It has brought many good changes to us.”

Watch this short video to hear from women in the program: