Life Changed Thanks to Money Borrowed from Taiwan... Renamed Daughter 'Taiwan'

Generating profit by cultivating crops with business funds supported by the Taiwan government

A woman from the small African country of Eswatini named her daughter 'Taiwan' after achieving a life turnaround thanks to business funding supported by the Taiwanese government. The woman, Nompundo Mabuza, is from Eswatini, which has a population of 1.2 million.

According to Yonhap News Agency citing Taiwan's Central News Agency, Mabuza named her newborn daughter 'Taiwan' after the English name of Taiwan, reported on the 8th. On the same day, the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), an overseas aid organization under the Taiwanese government, lent Mabuza 20,000 Eswatini lilangeni (approximately 1.55 million KRW) from the Taiwanese government support fund in March. She purchased high-quality corn and vegetable seeds, cultivated them, and sold the produce, generating sales of 50,000 Eswatini lilangeni.

Eswatini [Photo by AP / Yonhap News Archive]

Subsequently, last month, Mabuza fully repaid the loan and named her daughter born in March 'Taiwan' as a token of gratitude for Taiwan's support. The loan had changed her life.

Earlier, in January, the Taiwanese government established a fund worth 1 million USD (approximately 1.35 billion KRW) to support women entrepreneurs in Eswatini, implementing a policy to lend money to women with aspirations to escape poverty to start or grow their businesses. As of last month, the fund has loaned about 300,000 USD (approximately 400 million KRW) to 270 small and medium-sized enterprises in Eswatini.

Eswatini is one of the 12 countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. It officially established diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1968. Formerly known as Swaziland, Eswatini is famous for safari parks where tourists can ride horses, and its largest exports are sugar and concentrates used in carbonated drinks like Coca-Cola.

Previously, Bloomberg reported that this small country is obstructing China's efforts to eliminate Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Africa.

Animals in Hwange National Park located in Zimbabwe. (This photo is not directly related to the article.) [Photo by Reuters/Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, South African countries including Eswatini are reportedly suffering from food shortages due to the worst drought in a century. The cause is severe drought triggered by global warming and El Ni?o (the phenomenon of warming sea surface temperatures). Governments claim that slaughtering large animals can not only solve the food shortage but also reduce water consumption by the animals.

Environmental and animal rights groups are opposing this. Tennison Williams, Africa director of the non-profit animal welfare organization World Animal Protection, said, "While we recognize the severity of the drought, killing elephants alone cannot resolve the urgent food crisis."