Juraeva Hilola (36), mother of three, is a part of the self-help group (SHG) created in one of the rural areas of Ferghana valley. 
For about a year now, the joint project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) “Shared prosperity through cooperation in the border regions of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan” has been implemented. The project is funded by the UN Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund and aims to strengthen good neighborly relations on both sides of the border running through the Fergana Valley through the development of cooperation in agriculture and other areas, with a special focus on empowering women and youth in the border regions of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Self-help group (SHG) is a small group of women who join together to contribute money on a regular basis, which on its turn leads to women empowerment, serve as a factor of behavior change at the individual, family and community levels. 

SHGs organize rural women to save regularly and convert their savings into a Common Fund and they also promote small savings among its members, serving as a micro finance system.  In the framework of the Joint Project SHG members were also given training in how to conduct meetings, book keeping, banking, etc. 

Hilola is a young woman living in a small rural village in the Ferghana Valley. She was born and raised in the village, and had grown up surrounded by the lush green hills and valleys of the region. As a child, she had been curious about the world beyond her village, but had never had the opportunity to explore it. Hilola's story is one of many inspiring tales from the PBF project's SHGs. 

As part of SHG Hilola started making embroidery. Her self-help group consists of five people, who have an interest in entrepreneurship. They are helping each other with funding, and jointly producing embroidery and selling together in the market, thus making a living for all their families. They also save small amounts and accumulate them in their Common Fund to expand their activities in the future as well as keeping it as an emergency fund. 

Hilola shared her own experience on being a part of SHG: “I learned to sew from my mother. I used to make prayer rugs and traditional tabernacles and had many demands from my relatives and neighbors, whose daughters were about to get married. 
Our self-help group consists of  people, who  want to make a contribution to their families budgets. On the first training we were ready to receive and digest all the business-related information and honestly quite anxious to start the process on our own. ”

By increasing their abilities and providing them with the opportunity to participate in various entrepreneurial activities, SHGs have already significantly contributed to the development of entrepreneurial aptitudes among rural women. The collective power of these groups also provides its members with social support and a sense of belonging, which is essential for their well-being and progress.