Change a Girl's Life Through Microentrepreneurship

Milvet, a mother of 2 is a Keep A Girl Alive beneficiary who was displaced from the interior of Mundemba (Torkoh Village), South West Region in 2018 after having lived in the bush for over 6 months. She fled to Ekondo-Titi together with her two children and 5 siblings where she was purging with a friend who later moved to Douala 2 years.  Later things got extremely rough on her side as she had to beg to stay with people she never knew, just to have shelter With the ongoing crisis, Education is one of the reasons why most people leave neighboring communities of Ekondo Titi and stay in the main town, Ekondo Titi but this was not her priority due to extreme financial challenges. In order to   survive, Milvert and her siblings did many odd jobs to survive. Hunting of snails at night, picking of palm nut fruits, working on peoples farms (tilling the soil, planting and picking of Egusi). 

While in Mundemba, Milvert had acquired tailoring skills though she could not start up her own place due to financial challenges. She was linked to a tailor in Ekondo Titi, where she worked for 6 months after which the friend moved to Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon.  She had an agreement with her where she sends 1/3 of the income to the shop owner.

When she was identified by Reach Out Social workers in March 2021, Milvert was assisted with the sum of $60 which served as a turning point in her business. . She added this money to her own little savings and acquired a sewing machine of her own (fairly used) and other materials needed to run a tailoring shop . With the proceeds from the business and income generated from the odd jobs she and her siblings and children now rent two rooms (temporal structures)). “My 5year old daughter and younger brother are back to school for the 2021/2022 academic year. This is the greatest achievement I have had in the last 03 years” says Milvert.

Milvert buys business items from Kumba  (materials, tape, thread and other things). Sometimes she goes to Nigeria to buy from there when the Ndian-Kumba road is unsecured. As at August 2021, she had a capital of 78,000 ($156) and a monthly  profit of ($58). Though this is school resumption business is somehow slow to me because i did not invest in school materials. This was because it was rumored that the Non State Armed Group Boys had warned that they should not see any school material anywhere. This scared me and I could not go and buy from Kumba.

Thank you so much for donating. This is how far your donation has gone to put a smile on the face of a family that has been affected by the crisis.