Change a Girl's Life Through Microentrepreneurship

Christina is an internally displaced grassroots woman who was forced to abandon her job as a field worker in the Cameroon Development Cooperation (C.D.C.) Delmonte banana plantation in Mondoni in Tiko sub-division to Fako sub-division precisely in Buea. Christina is a 32-year-old single mother of two who was the sole provider for her kids through the daily wages she got as a field worker in C.D.C. Delmonte Banana before the crisis started in 2016.

When the crisis started in 2016, Christina and her fellow field workers did not immediately stop working in the field. "On ghost town days, we won’t dare go out to the field." In 2018, the dynamics of the crisis changed, and non-state armed groups focused their attention on attacking government-owned properties. This did not leave out the Cameroon Development Cooperation (C.D.C. palm, banana, and rubber plantations). As a result, some field workers were killed in the field, while others lost some parts of their bodies (their fingers). This caused lots of frights and instability in the C.D.C. camps, and as a result, many plantation workers had to flee for their lives, including Christina and her two kids.

With the little savings she had as a laborer on the plantation, she moved to Mile 16, a rural setting in the Fako Division, in 2018. There she rented a plank room for 3 months, which cost her $16 (8,000 FCFA monthly). She resorted to doing menial jobs to survive the seemingly increased cost of living in her new area. She could not meet the school needs of her two kids as mile 16 is some miles away from the central town where all the schools are functional.

After doing menial jobs (working on people's farms and others), Christina was able to start up a small onion and gallic hawking business in the markets worth $70 (35,000 CFA). With a monthly average capital of $15 (15,000 CFA), Christina managed her household expenditures while still blinding business with menial jobs just so as to keep up with the cost of living. Not being able to secure a space in the market, Christina was always disturbed by the municipal council's demand that she pay market cleanup and security levies. "This was so disturbing as there were days I could spend the whole day in the market and realize just $4 (2000 CFS). Since I did not have enough capital to buy a bag of onions or garlic, I could only receive the grade and quantity equivalent to my money (the last grades after the big buyers have done the selection)." It affected Cristina negatively as the goods sometimes got bad in hand, causing great losses to her business.

Such losses caused her inconsistency in business, as she would frequently resort to doing menial jobs to raise capital from time to time. In July 2022, during a door-to-door identification process, Christina was identified by our social worker. After conducting her social inquiry and going through the vulnerability criteria, Christina presented a realistic business plan for her onion and garlic business. After going through a 3-day intensive training program on business management, bookkeeping, savings, and reproductive health and rights, Christina was given a business grant of $100 (50,000 CFA). "The money gave me the power to buy a 50kg bag of onions, freh tomatoes and a 25kg bag of garlic and also rent a space in the 02 markets". At first, she could sell only in one location or market within her town. Now, with coaching from the Reach Out team on innovation in business and online banking, she does not only sell in three locations but she also has a mobile bank (online banking) where she can monitor her financial account and do transactions from the comfort of her business place. With an average monthly income of $90 (45,000 CFA), Christina’s living conditions have improved. She now rents a room for $20 (10,000 CFA) and can now afford to provide an education for her children.

Christina is just 1 out of the 107 women and girls for whom your support has gone a long way to changing their stories in a conflict-affected area through microbusiness. Thank you so much for your support.