BAKERS, A GIFT FROM GOD

Fariba Rezaie is from Iran and came as a refugee to United States in 2006. She came by herself, leaving behind her son with her family. She found a job in Atlanta but after getting injured, she had to stop working. During her recovery, she realized she wanted to start her own bakery so she could bring her son to America.

Fariba states that “bakers are special because they bake bread – they are a gift from God” . She feels special. She wants to bake the best bread, so when people eat it they won’t be hungry for a while.

She came to Refugee Women’s Network (RWN) for an orientation on how to get her registration and license. Her friend helped her design a logo, and she started promoting her business to her Iranian, Turkish, Russian and Indian friends on Facebook. After a long process and in early 2011, she opened the doors of her bakery called Banou Bakery. She sells Barbari bread and Tandoori nan bread.

She hired two part-time employees and one full-time to help her with the baking. She also paid for their lunch and transportation. She wanted to be a good boss, someone who takes care of her employees. Her sales were increasing and she was making great connections with big grocery chain stores, but she was running out of cash to make payroll. She decided to approach RWN again to apply for a loan.

After reviewing her finances, she was advised to reduce her expenses. She also received technical assistance on how to create a budget to keep track of her profit, and received support with bookkeeping for her bakery. Two weeks later she decided to keep only one part-time employee and said: “If RWN didn’t help me, I would be out of business now. I feel very thankful for the services they provide”.

Her business is growing stronger now. She has two big accounts, and in the process of getting another one (that is requesting her to use bar codes for her products). She is working on it, and knows she will get this new client.

Recently her son finally came to the U.S. with his father. He was accepted to a gifted program at school, and there is no prouder mom than Fariba.

When she arrived in the U.S., her friends told her there are many opportunities in this country, but only with hard work. Now she can tell others that by working hard and getting up early every morning to bake her special bread, and keeping her heart close to her son, she is the happiest woman on earth.

By Refugee Women’s Network

Sandra Achury – Microenterprise Program Coordinator

www.riwn.org

1431 McLendon Dr. Suite A

Decatur, GA 30033

Ph: 404-437-7767