Change a Girl's Life Through Microentrepreneurship

Mary, a single mother of three, was forced to flee from  Bambui a community in the North West region of Cameroon  to Muea  a community in the south west region of Cameroon due to the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. Before the crisis, she led a peaceful life and was involved in farming, cultivating egusi, yams, and cassava. During harvest time, she could earn around ($81) 50,000 CFA per month. Alongside farming, she was also learning a trade. When the crisis erupted, Mary and her family sought refuge in the bush on their farm. Their situation worsened in 2018 when their house was destroyed, and their farmland became unsafe. They had to leave Bambui for Muea, where a relative provided them with shelter.

Life in Muea was challenging for Mary and her children, and she had to work on other people's farms to survive. Eventually, a family friend introduced her to the onion business, where she obtained onions from a wholesaler and paid at the end of each day's sales. Mary was fortunate to be identified by a Reach Out Social worker during this time.

In January, she underwent a 3-day training program covering Bookkeeping, entrepreneurship, savings, and smallholder rotation business management. Upon completion of the training, she received her first level grant of ($93) 57,200 CFA, which she used to expand her business by adding half a bag of garlic to her onion business. In July, after a refresher training, she received her second level grant of ($187) 114,400 CFA. With this grant, she further expanded her business by purchasing two bags of onions at ($196)120,000 CFA and half a bag of garlic at ($106) 65,000 CFA .She has managed to support her family, and sending her children to school is no longer a source of stress. However, one of the main challenges she faces in her business is that sometimes the suppliers provide her with rotten onions, making it difficult to conduct her business.

Despite the challenges, Mary has been able to improve her monthly profits and now makes an average monthly profit of ($81) 50,000 CFA. She credits her improvement to the training she received, stating that it has enabled her to manage her business effectively and improve her customer relations.

“Thanks to the support i received from ReachOut and her partners, my family now lives without the stress of going hungry. my children are able to attend school, and I  can pay rent without worry. Additionally, the account created for me has provided a sense of security, knowing that  I have funds available for any future emergency such as her children falling ill.” Said Mary