By Marc Serna Rius | interim Head of the Wealth Creation Department
Dear donors,
It looked impossible, but you did it. Last minute, enough money was raised to help Marie get to University next year. Some of you donated more than one time, you were noticed, and we also told Marie. Thank you for doing this, you will not regret it.
This December she was supported to get a loan. We opened an account in a local credit Union for her, and she could get a loan of about 550 dollars, which she has been using to scale-up her businesses. (She is both trading bananas and selling in a shop).
Next September her University fees will be paid and she will study Business Management in the Higher Institution of Management Studies, (HIMS) Buea. The total fee will be more than 700 dollars, but Marie is also contributing part of the total with the profits from her business.
We want you to get to know her better, so last week we interviewed her in her house in Tole. Find the full interview bellow.
Remember you can keep in touch with the work we do. Right now we are in a middle of a campaign to enter in the GlobalGiving Girl Fund! We need as many small donations as possible from different donors, if we are among the first four projects, we will earn a permanent spot and scale-up the project to find 200 more girls, so please if you can donate 10$ before the 15th of March, and share the information among friends and family. Help us find more girls like Marie.
“What are your perspectives for the future, what would you like to be doing after your degree?
I will try to find a job, but even with a degree it’s difficult. If I don’t find something I will be self-employed. I was thinking of doing import-export.
Are you ready for life as a student? What excites you more about it? What worries you?
I’m very excited. My dream will come to be. To go to school and complete my education. I’m not really worried. If there’s no food, we will still try. We are used to it.
Was it hard to reach this level? Did you sometimes doubt you could ever go to University?
Yeah, I doubted. I never thought this was possible. But since 2014 when Reach Out helped me for the first time I started to think about it. I knew I could do it and started having hope. [In 2014 Marie started business with us and paid herself through the last class of High-School with her profits]
What do you do in a normal day?
On Mondays I go to buy banana. I go to Mapanja or Bwasa [Nearby villages]. Tuesday I sell very early. Wednesdays is for Church, Thursday buy and Friday sell. Every day I also manage the store, but I’ve realized the banana business is more profitable.
On Tuesdays and Fridays I get up at 3.00. At 4.00 a.m everybody is in the market, people come to buy to Tole and sell in Douala.[Economic Capital of Cameroon, about 60 km distance of Tole] As you see me now I’m really tired. [It was Friday 10.00 am]
How do you make profits?
Banana in those villages is really cheap, a bundle is 1000 here but 600 in Mapanja. I was introduced to the business by somebody. He is now the person who I sell to. He sells in Douala.
What role do you play in your family, are you supporting or you are the one being supported?
The business [hers] sustains the house. Things are better now. The business has made me to be responsible and I now experience life. The good and the bad side.
What would you like to say to those who supported you?
I want to thank them for everything they have done to me. Since I started being involved in business, they’ve made me to change my life and my lifestyle. I hope their houses will remain blessed.
100 times thank you! And remember you can help us find the next marie!
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