Gender Equality Ghana Project #3694

Empower 600 Women in Ghana with Microcredit Loans

by Self-Help International

Empower 600 Women in Ghana with Microcredit Loans

Project Report | Mar 1, 2019
The Best "Gift" in Life is a Second Chance

By Nancy Ansah | Micro-Credit Assistant Program Officer

Gifty, her two children, and her mom

When she was just 12 years old, financial hardship led her parents to send Gifty to live with her grandmother in Kwadaso, a suburb of Kumasi, Ghana. Though Gifty was initially enrolled in a local public school, her grandmother wasn’t able to earn enough selling charcoal to keep Gifty in school.

“Our poor financial state cost me my education. For two years, my grandmother was unable to provide for my education and I spent that whole time out of school,” Gifty said.

“I wanted to go back to school so much that I accepted a proposal from an elderly man. He promised to support me through my education,” Gifty said. “Unfortunately, during my first year of junior high school at the age of 17, I got pregnant. I was heartbroken because I knew that my education had come to an end. I felt ashamed and lacked parental guidance, so I stopped going to school.”

Not Alone

Gifty is not alone in her struggles. Many teenage girls in rural Ghana are currently facing challenges very similar to the ones Gifty experienced when she was 17. They all want to succeed and advance academically, but poverty and an absence of parental support stifle their dreams.

“After I had my first baby, my grandmother accommodated me and my little girl for some time,” Gifty said. “However, she eventually pushed us to go live with the father of my baby, Gilbert, who was a carpenter.”

“Exactly six months after I moved in with Gilbert, I got pregnant again. Life became unbearable for us. I was unemployed and Gilbert earned very little from his job,” Gifty said. “On days he didn’t get money, we went without food. I finally had to contact my family in Adankwame. Thankfully my mother’s response was heartwarming. She quickly asked me and my babies to live with her.”

A Second Chance

“I could not bear to see my daughter in so much pain and distress,” Gifty’s mother, Lamisi, said. Lamisi is currently part of Self-Help’s micro-credit program in Adankwame, where she runs a business selling onions and makes ‘kenkey’ [a local fermented corn dish] for sale on special occasions.

“I wanted to send Gifty back to school, but there were too many mouths to feed,” said Lamisi, a mother of seven herself. “Instead, I introduced Gifty to my food business and she is doing very well! I also introduced her to the micro-credit program because I knew it could help her get back on her own feet again.”

Gifty learned basic business skills and financial management from Self-Help and then was able to access her first micro-loan to start a business of her own and generate income to support her children, five-year-old Stella and four-year-old Joshua.

“After two years of participating in the Self-Help International micro-credit program, I have been able to enroll my children into a private school and I am learning dressmaking,” Gifty said.

“Unlike many other apprentices, I have been able to purchase a sewing machine with a micro-loan and savings from my food business,” Gifty said. “My goal is to purchase a chest freezer with my next loan. That will enable me to sell drinks and ice cubes to my community.”

A Brighter Future

Gifty says that though she has little free time between caring for the kids, working as a food vendor and serving as an apprentice, she will never give up. She feels that she has been given a second chance and is using it to the best of her ability. She is very thankful for the financial support and guidance from Self-Help.

“Thank you to the supporters who have made it possible for me to have a reason to strive for greater things in life,” Gifty concluded, smiling amidst her tears. “I think that I will eventually make enough money to take care of my two children, concentrate on my seamstress apprenticeship, and have some peace of mind.”

Gifty at her seamstress apprenticeship.

Gifty and her two children

Permalink

Dec 4, 2018
From Share Cropper to Proud Grocery Store Owner, Alijatu's Story

By Benjamin Kusi | Ghana Country Director

Alijatu in her grocery store.

“Many ladies think getting married is the solution to their financial problems. They expect their partner to provide for all their needs and the needs of their family. But little do these ladies think of how to improve the lives of the men they are getting married to and what they will do to survive in case the man faces financial challenges. Well! Who am I to criticize? As a lady myself, I also want to live the ‘American dream.’” - Alijatu

Alijatu is 38 years old, married, and has four children. She is from Ho in the Volta region of eastern Ghana, but she was born and raised in Kwame-Dwaa in the Ashanti region. Most women in rural communities are well known for their hard work and Alijatu is no exception. Abubakar, Alijatu’s husband, has not been financially stable over the past few years which compelled Alijatu to find work to be able to provide for her family.

She initially got involved in oil palm and cocoa farming. Since she did not have any land of her own, both farms were shared cropping or "yemayenkye.” Yemayenkye literally means cultivating a piece of land so that the produce is shared between the owner of the land and the cultivator. Before any of her farms produced fruits, she engaged in petty trading to support her family.

One Thursday morning, Self-Help International visited Kwame-Dwaa to talk about the micro-credit program, and Alijatu joined the micro-credit initiative and acquired a loan. She also received trainings on how to manage her business and loans. After months of applying diligent saving techniques, Alijatu was able to put up a small shop kiosk.

“With what I learned during trainings and the help of Almighty Allah, I can now boast of a fully stocked grocery store in Kwame-Dwaa. I have also been able to provide for my kids to the extent that two of them are now in the best senior high school in the district” Alijatu said.

One of her greatest accomplishments is that she has been able to build a two-room house which has a roof and is about to be plastered.

“I would have named my ‘new child’ after Self-Help International if Self-Help was a human being,” she joked.

Her gratitude goes on and on. Alijatu may not be rich or have gained all her heart’s desires but she is comfortable now with what she has. Her story would not be possible without the help of Self-Help International and supporters across the globe. She is forever grateful.

Alijatu

Permalink

Sep 12, 2018
How Akua Went From Sharecropper to Small Business Owner

By Elizabeth Adu-Opoku | Micro-credit Program Officer

Akua with her her "aboboyaa" or tricycle

Akua, 50, is married to Emmanuel. The couple have four children: Charles, Isaac, Vera, and Abigail. They live in Kwame-Dwaa in the Ashanti region. Akua works as a farmer and a trader.

Previously, Akua and her family lived in Sefwi in the Western region where she was a cocoa farmer. She did not have land of her own, so she worked on other people's land and shared the proceeds. In Ghana, this system is known as yemayenkye, or sharecropping. Since they were not earning enough to support their children, the family migrated to Kwame Dwaa to seek greener pastures.

When they moved to Kwame Dwaa, Akua and Emmanuel worked in peasant farming but there was not nearly as much improvement in their lives as they expected. Since they did not have enough money to care for their children and invest in their farm, Akua was very worried. One fateful day, Self-Help International came to their village and introduced the micro-credit program. She joined the micro-credit program and received her first loan of GHC 150 in 2012, with which she started a petty trade to support her family and also invested some of the profits in the farm.

After she joined the micro-credit program, she paid back her loans on time and was able to secure several loans for different investments. She has noticed a lot of improvement in her life. She was able to enroll her eldest son, Charles, into a nursing training school. Akua expanded her petty trade from a simple table-top trade into a container store where she now sells all kinds of provisions. She built a house which is at lintel, a local term for the roofing stage of construction. She also purchased a tricycle, locally known as aboboyaa. Using the aboboyaa, she charges small fees to transport goods within her community.

Akua affectionately said, “Self Help micro-credit is really a life-saver. Had it not been for the micro-credit program which supported me financially and psychologically, I would not be where I am with my family to day.”

She is extremely thankful to her husband for being understanding and supportive in all her dealings with Self-Help. “Some men are reluctant to support their wives to stand on their own two feet. My husband is different and he is part of the reason you call me a good leader.” Akua is indeed a good leader who makes sure her fellow micro-credit group members are always on time and ready to support one another, especially in repaying their loans and sharing business ideas.

GlobalGiving is matching ALL gifts for a limited time only!! Make your dollars go further: donate from September 11 at 11pm CDT to September 13 at 8pm CDT to increase your impact! See complete details here.

Akua proudly displays her "aboboyaa" or tricycle

Links:

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ... 24 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.