Tui’s story: a bigger home for her family

Tui* and her five children had spent ten months living with Tui’s parents in a small, two-bedroom house. Because of the cramped conditions, Tui’s relationship with her parents had become very fragile – her father has a brain injury and found it hard to tolerate the noise of five children in the house. Not only that, Tui had a difficult relationship with the children’s father and her eldest daughter was unwell.

Tui and her family desperately needed to move into their own home, but she didn’t have enough saved for a tenancy bond. She had been working with a financial mentor for over 10 years, who suggested she apply for an interest-free GetAhead Asset Building loan from Ngā Tāngata Microfinance to meet the cost of the tenancy bond. The loan was approved and Tui and her children have happily moved into their own home.

With the encouragement of her financial mentor, Tui also undertook a course of study for a degree and is now employed using that qualification. She continues to work with her financial mentor as her student loan repayments are leaving her little money to save.

Now that she’s not living in such a cramped living environment, Tui is better able to manage the tensions between her children as well as those with the children’s father. She says that relations with her parents have greatly improved.

The GetAhead Asset Building loan has helping Tui create a better life for her family and prospects for the future.

*Note: all names including those of the loan companies have been changed. Any re-publishing of these case studies need the permission of Ngā Tāngata Microfinance Ltd.